


When You're Gone

by SakumiYukime



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Backgroud Shallura, Big Bro Lance/ Little Sis Pidge, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Evil Lance (Voltron), Galra!Keith, I hope, I love them and i have no idea why i make them suffer, I wrote this fic instead of sleeping, Keith (Voltron) Angst, Keith literally gets gayer every line, Langst, Like a lot of that, Lotor is an asshole but i love him for some reason, M/M, Mind Control, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pidge is the fandom, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Possible Character Death, Protective Keith (Voltron), Protective Lance (Voltron), Psychological Torture, Salty Keith (Voltron), Slow Burn, Someone stop me, The Author Regrets Nothing, The bad guys are smart and know what they are doing, Torture, Where is haggar I wonder, bless Keith's gay heart, but I do, cuz im weak for that, klangst, or studying, pidge is savage, protect lance mcclain, she/her pronouns for pidge, someone save him please
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-02
Updated: 2017-05-30
Packaged: 2018-10-14 01:27:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 35,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10526022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SakumiYukime/pseuds/SakumiYukime
Summary: After an unexpected fight of Team Voltron with the Galra emperor, Keith wakes up from a coma and is struck with the realization,What if it was all a dream?





	1. Shut up, Mullet

Today was _ not  _ a good day. At least, not for team Voltron. 

Some vargas ago they had landed on an alien planet that seemed to be uninhabited, and Allura suggested for them to take a break, and explore the planet. With the amount of planets they had freed from the galra empire, the Voltron alliance was growing rapidly. But even so, every time prisoners were rescued from the galra the team always seemed to struggle to find a place where they could live, safely.

The idea of creating a safe place had probably come from Pidge. She had suggested it has a base where they could gather allies and information about Zarkon and his troopers. Allura picked the idea and proposed the creation of a safe place for the people that they had rescued as well. It was a pretty good idea. Not everyone they rescued wanted to join the resistance or had the will to keep fighting. Some of the people had been through so much and seen so much they just really needed a break from that life. So a safe place, like a sanctuary, with members of the alliance protecting it, sounded like a really good idea.

That was until they came across the question - Where?

It had to be a place that Zarkon wouldn’t find so easily, but it also couldn’t be located on the other side of the Universe. Pidge seemed to be frying her brain thinking about a solution while Coran kept showing her the results of the scans he had done. But the answer wasn’t coming to them easily. Plus they still had their duties as defenders of the universe to attend to, so they couldn’t just focus on the matter at hands.

But today, as they traveled through a particular part of the universe, the scans showed a very interesting planet.

“Oh god, Hunk!” Pidge shouted from the monitor screen, “You have to come see this!”

“Wow… Is- is that what I think it is?” he looked back at Pidge, pure delight written all over his face, “Those readings are amazing! It’s like we just came across a miracle planet, no purple aliens, good atmosphere, tons of water, looks like earth 2.0!”

“Hunk, buddy!” Lance jumped from his chair sprinting to the monitor too, “There’s water? Tell me there is a beach in there, man!” 

“Hum…” Pidge looked at the charts while adjusting her glasses, “I don't think that is an impossibility? I mean with the planet temperature, due to the location on this solar system, the atmosphere constitution and everything…” Lance looked at her with an eyebrow raised as if he was asking for a translation. 

“Oh yeh! I see what you mean! I thought that too! Otherwise there wouldn’t be so much water… I think or would have it evaporated by now or-”

“Hunk?! English please?!”

“Oh right sorry, my bad!” he looked apologetically at Lance, “It’s just a theory tho but it’s highly likely that this specific planet, right here-”

“Hunk! What?!”

“- has rain as well!” Lance’s eyes widen, “As in, it might rain sometimes,” he looked at the charts, “probably less often than in earth, but I guess that has to do with the specific location on the planet too. Lance?” The blue paladin was doing a terrible job at containing his laughter, screams, tears and enthusiasm. “Guys? I think I broke, Lance!” Hunk said dramatically as he shook the other boy, “I’m so sorry, Lance! Please come back to us!!”

“Ok everybody, calm down!” Shiro intervened, with a tender smile, “We’re all very excited but we have to stay focused!” 

“Shiro is right! We should probably take a closer look on that planet!” Allura continued, “The scans are a great help but nothing compares to analysing and exploring the planet ourselves!”

“Count me in!” Lance erupted, “I’m definitely grabbing my swim trunks and we’re good to go!”

“Lance…” Keith hissed, “This isn’t some joke!”

“Shut your annoying quiznak, Mullet!” Lance swore back at the red paladin and made his way to the dorms, mumbling some other words as he left. Everyone looked back at Keith, who just shrug his shoulders in a defensive way. 

Mainly because of that, but also to cover more ground, the team had split into groups to evaluate the planet. Shiro went with Keith, Lance with Hunk and Pidge was with Allura. Coran stayed in the castle where he received and organized the readings and information collected from the three teams.

Everything went pretty smoothly. The planet seemed to be the perfect place. Pidge and Hunk kept rambling over the coms about how amazingly structured the planet seemed. Well, mainly it was Pidge rambling and Hunk converting it to food concepts. The usual.

That was until Hunk and Lance had come across a gigantic mass of water.

“Hunk!! Oh god, Hunk!” he pointed to ‘the ocean’ with teary eyes, “It’s so beautiful! I missed it so much! How ridiculous is it that none of the hundred planets we’ve been in never had THIS!”

“Lance, man! I know you’re very excited about this whole ocean thing… But we don’t really know how safe it is, so promise me you won’t- Oh and he just dived in the water. Great! Thanks man! That’s really nice of you to even listen to what I’m saying!”

“Hunk! This is amazing!”, Lance emerged from underwater, a small drop falling down his hair and running down his face, “It’s great! It’s so warm! Come on join me! Don’t tell me you’re afraid of a little water!”

“Oh! I am not afraid of water, man! So come out right now! We’ve got to scout the area, plus that could be dangerous!” 

“Seriously, Hunk… You big scaredy cat, what could possibly-”

“DOn’t SAY ThaT!”

“-go wrong!” Lance eyed him raising a brow like he was trying to prove his point. 

“Paladins! We have trouble!” The warning came from the coms.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me…” Lance protested as he hurried to exit the water. His face changed to a worried expression “Hunk… we  _ might _ have a problem.”

 

***

 

“Why are they taking so long,” Keith protested as he dived, evading a laser sent by the robeast.

“Maybe something happened to them…” Pidge sounded worried, “Hunk? Lance? Can you hear me? What happened to you guys?”

“It’s strange that they’re taking so long, but we have to keep fighting. The princess said Hunk and Lance were on their way! We just have to hold out a little longer until they get here and we can form Voltron!”

The 3 lions dodged another attack before the beast lost interest on them turning to the planet before a purple light started to form from its core.

“What the hell is that?”

“Allura?”

“Already scanning it, Pidge! Oh my!”

“What is it?”

“That weapon! It seems to be draining this planet’s quintencesse! And at an incredibly fast rate!” She took a deep breath, “You must stop it immediately, or the planet will cease to be!”

“And with no planet, no amazing place to build a sanctuary! Got it!”

“Keith, Pidge, Aim for that purple thing with all you got!” Shiro started, “I'll try to get his attention!” The black lion flew towards the mechanical beast, launching some fire and efficiently causing a diversion.”

“No more waiting for Hunk and Lance, I see…” Keith commented, a sly smirk on his face, “Pidge, I’ll use the lava laser and see what happens!”

“Yeh! No point in shooting my vines first if you're going to do that!” Keith hit right on the core of the weapon, making the purple change into a fierce red. 

“That can't be good, can it?”

“Pidge, Keith, move!” they heard Shiro over the coms shout, “He is about to aim that thing towards you!”

“Oh he does NOT look happy!” Pidge noted before moving the controls getting her lion out of the laser range. Keith also avoided it easily.

“Well, at least he is not destroying the planet!”

“DESTROYING US IS NOT AN IMPROVEMENT, KEITH!”

“Pidge, try vining it together!” Shiro started.

“Ok! Just get me a clear shot!”

“No problem!” Keith stated over the communicator, as the robeast followed him, he easily avoided all the attacks as he guided it, giving Pidge the perfect shot. And she didn't waste it. The vines rapidly restricted the robot movements and Shiro attacked instantly, followed by Keith.

“-hh Guys?! Come on! Work you… stupid thing?” Hunk’s voice sounded in the coms followed by Lance screaming tone.

“Nonononono! this is bad this is very bad!”

“Guys?” Shiro started, “What is going on?” Pidge sighed in relief, while Keith let out a small smile.

“Yes! It's working! I told you I could make it work, Lance!”

“Whatever, buddy!” Two voices screamed, “oh quiznak?”

“Just fly this thing straigh-,” Hunk held his breath, putting a hand over his mouth.

“Don't you even dare puke on me now man!”

“Hunk, Lance,” Shiro called them over the coms, “What's going on?”

“Shiro! We need help!” Lance responded as Hunk puked his guts out, “We were about to-ahh WHAT THE HELL? We were leaving to join you guys when an entire galra patrol started attacking us! We stole one of their ship- Oh my quiznack NOT THAT LASER AGAIN, HUNK DO SOMETHING!”

“I'm tryi-” he puked again.

“How are you flying a galra ship?” Pidge asked curiously.

“Hunk, make it work somehow, but I'm actually grabbing the controls with two galra hands and it's not easy!”

“I ran the code you made, Pidge! It wor-Ahhhhhh! Stop doing that, Lance!”

“You try piloting a ship by grabbing two galra hands!”

“I’m connecting you two to the castle communicator, maybe they can override the system of that ship an-”

“We don't need your genius right now Pidge, we need backup or our lions!”

“L-lance! Is that?-”

“Oh my god…”

“-we’re gonna die! We’re so dead-”

“Guys! Hurry up!’

“-Im too young to die, Lance!” Hunk cried.

“What’s going on?” Keith asked.

“Z-z-zar-kon! The main ship is right in fron-”

“Hunk! I think your magic code isn't working! I lost control!”

“Oh nonono! We’re going down! I'm gon-”

“Keith, Pidge,” Shiro started.

“On it” they replied instantly. They didn't need to hear Shiro to know what he was going to say.

“-nna die! Lance I’ll miss you in the afterlife, man!”

“Come on just work please work work wor-”

_ Static. _

Keith felt a lump forming in his throat. Had they crashed? Or maybe the managed somehow. They wouldn’t die just like that, right?

“Shiro?”

“I spot the galra patrol!” Pidge started, her voice notoriously hinted she was thinking about the worst case scenario.

“Guys!?” Lance sobbed.

“I loved you so much you metallic giant alien cat” they could hear Hunk on the other side of the coms too, definitely crying as he spoke.

“Our lions saved us!” The other 3 paladins let out a clear sound of relief.

“Yup! There they are!” Keith said as he had a visual on the blue and yellow lion. Thanks to his lion’s speed he had managed to reach them before Shiro or Pidge. 

“You sound almost happy, Mullet!”

“It would be a waste if Hunk’s cooking skills left us like that!”

“Oh no need to worry, man!” Hunk replied his voice still weak from his cries and screams, “Galra Keith is not just funny, but a lot more caring too!” he mumbled to himself.

“What do we do, Shiro?” Pidge asked, “Zakon is right here! Our perfect planet has been compromised! But even if we leave he’ll probably destroy it.”

“Pidge is right!”, Allura spoke, “He definitely plans of draining this planet's quintencesse killing it completely! We have to stop him!”

“We’re not prepared to fight Zarkon, right now!” Keith stated, “We’ll be delivering Voltron right into his hands, plus he could destroy the planet after he is done with us!”

“You are scared?” Lance mocked.

“Quit it you two!” Shiro stopped them before Keith could answer.

“Guys… I hate to admit it but… Not that I want to sound like a cold emo, but Keith is kinda right. Every time we fought Zarkon either a lot of good people died for us to escape, or we had a  _ really _ complex plan prepared weeks in advance! Storming out is a really bad idea!”

“We can’t just let them destroy the planet like this and do nothing!”

“A lot more than just planets will be destroyed if Zarkon gets his hand on Voltron!”

“Guys! We don’t have time to be arguing like this!” Shiro intervened, “Allura, stay in the castle and secure us an escaping route! We’ll protect the planet but if something goes wrong, we’ll leave immediately!”

“Sounds like a plan!” Pidge agreed as everyone nodded in harmony.

“Alright guys! Form Voltron!” Shiro shouted and the lions combined into the familiar gigantic robot. Voltron flew towards the main battleship.

“Let’s start by taking down that weapon!” Shiro started, referring to the cannon the galra had created to drain a planet’s quintencesse in a few minutes. A couple of enemy ships launched from the main ship attacking them.

“Keith,” Shiro spoke.

“On it!” Keith replied, immediately preparing his bayhard.

“Form sword!” Voltron easily cut through the fighters making them explode. The gigantic robot efficiently reached the weapon cutting it in half before Zarkon’s defences could gather. 

But their luck wasn’t going to last much longer.

“Holy crow! Is- Is that Zarkon?” Hunk pointed out, and 4 heads turned to look towards the galra emperor.

“He is coming here by himself?” Lance asked in a confused tone. The 5 paladins watched as Zarkon rose his right arm and a swarm of fighters flew towards them.

“You had to say that, didn’t you Lance!”

“Shi-shiro! What now?” 

“Hunk, form the shoulder cannon!” The yellow paladin hurried, shoving his bayhard and turning it around. As the sword disappeared into thin air, the cannon located on the right shoulder of Voltron formed, rapidly firing and taking down most of the enemy's ships.

Zarkon pushed forwards, attacking the legendary defender with all his might. He was using the battle armor, Haggar and the druids had specifically created for him. Voltron’s sword reappeared in his right hand again as the cannon vanished, and the two opponents crashed into battle. The paladins were synchronized and managed to lay a couple of strikes on the emperor. Zarkon tried to establish a link with the black lion, more than once, but failed. Shiro could feel him in the back of his mind, preying for connection with his long lost lion.

“We can do this, guys!” Lance shouted enthusiastically, “We can take him down right now! Winner takes the Universe!”

“Watch it, Lance!”

“Oh shut up, Mullet!”

“Quit it, you too!” Shiro stood before it was too late as Hunk mumbled ‘here we go again…’.

“Keith started it!” The blue paladin protested. Keith was about to swore back but Pidge cut him out.

“GUYS!” But it was already too late. Zarkon kicked Voltron easily before throwing his fist directly at the head of Voltron grabbing it with all his might. Some bizarre black energy formed in the palm of Zarkon hands, striking directly in the black lion’s head.

Shiro screamed in pain and agony as he felt his whole mind succumb to the dark energy. The other four paladins felt part of the pain over the bond they shared and before they knew it Voltron had broken down into five lions again.

“SHiro!” Keith urged for an answer. The yellow and the green lion grabbed the black lion. Keith abruptly covered them, laying some firepower to slow Zarkon down.

“Is even anyone against getting the hell out of here!?” Hunk mentioned.

“Hurry!” Keith pledged, barely holding out as Zarkon attack him annoyed.

“We can not just leave that plan-”

“Enough, Lance!” It was unexpected to see Pidge fume like that, “We did what we could, but we can’t take more risks. We don’t even know if Shiro-” She refused to finish the sentence. “So just- Lance! Get out of there!” The green paladin panicked when she saw the galra emperor aiming for her friend.

 


	2. Just a dream

“So just- Lance! Get out of there!” The green paladin panicked when she saw the galra emperor aiming for her friend.

“Wha-”

“LAANCE!” Keith shouted and he stormed towards the blue lion. Lance was distracted, but Red was fast and agile, he could make it in time. He had to make it in time. They didn’t know what that attack was or what it had done to Shiro. They couldn’t let it hit someone else.

_He couldn’t let it hit Lance._

The red lion crashed into the blue one, moving it out of the way and sparing it from the direct hit of the cursed attack. Keith felt a smile form for a brief moment before pain stabbed his whole body. He didn’t even manage to hear his own scream before everything faded to black.

 

***

 

Keith slowly opened his eyes. A frail light helped him distinguish dream from reality, gently reminding him he was still alive.

“-e’s awake”, he heard someone in the room state happily. A wave of relief washed him as he pictured the smiling faces of his companions, safe and away from danger. But, fate had other plans for him and, instead of the smiles from his team, Keith found himself looking at other familiar faces, which surprisingly looked almost relieved to see him alive.

Keith didn’t need a second to stand up, ready to attack or defend himself from anything the three most well-known people from the galra empire could try to do to him.

_Was I captured after the battle with Zarkon,_ the thought formed in his mind, _I need to escape and get back to the castle. I won’t subdue to them,_ Keith’s eyes trailed off to look at the three enemies standing in the room.

Zarkon was sitting on an armchair next to the bed where Keith had once laid. His expression looked almost pained and sad when Keith reacted in such an abrupt way.

“Keith? Is something wrong?” He asked. His voice was as dry as Keith remembered but his expression wasn’t what the black haired teenager predicted from the embodiment of pure evil.

Keith looked around, eyes widening. _What is going on?_ He wasn’t chained like a prisoner. Why? _Could they be trying to deceive me with sweet talk?_ No. No way that could be possible. The boy looked at the witch’s face. Plain. She didn’t seem to show much emotion or reaction to the situation. On the other hand, prince Lotor looked quite shocked. Keith noticed his lips parting and mumbling ‘father’ as if he was trying to confirm something that looked impossible.

“Why am I here?” Keith asked, not really answering Zarkon’s question. Why should he anyways.

“Keith, my boy,” the words cut him in half, releasing flames of anger from his soul, “You were brought here to rest and receive treatment to recover from your last battle.” Keith was confused.

“What- What is that suppose to mean? I am a paladin of Voltron! You’re the enemy!” Keith observed as Zarkon’s eyes twisted in disbelief and almost sadness. If he didn’t know the ruthless creature he was staring at, he might have thought that the galra emperor had feelings.

Keith took a deep breath while trying to organize his thoughts and memories. He remembered battling Zarkon. He remembered Lance in danger and the way he screamed before everything faded to black. Everything else was just bits and pieces, and Keith wasn’t really making much progress in sewing them together.

“Sire,” Haggar talked interrupting Keith’s thoughts, “I believe the Prince might not have recovered mentally yet.” Keith looked at her, panic was written all over his face. _Prince? Me?_ Zarkon let out a wistful sigh as if he himself couldn’t believe the situation.

“What,” Keith spoke finally, “What is going on?”

“Son,” Zarkon took a deep breath trying to soften the cruel truth, “I don’t know what happened in your mind, but you’ve been in a coma for 3 years!”

“What?” Keith eloquently stated back at the galra emperor. How could that be possible. He was a paladin of Voltron.

“Haggar, Lotor,” The black haired boy heard Zarkon demand, “Leave us alone for a moment.” Keith took another step back, his legs softly hitting the bed sheets. Haggar left immediately bowing slightly. The galra prince hesitated for a moment but he, too, left, closing the door behind him, carefully.

“Keith,” Zarkon tried to approach him carefully, but Keith jerked backward immediately. The galra looked almost pained at the reaction. He gently moved to the side and sat on the chair. Keith looked like a wounded animal cornered in the room, as Zarkon simply tried to approach him to tend to his wounds. The teen eyed the emperor as Zarkon gestured him to sit too.

Keith’s mind was racing. Nothing was making sense. Why was he in the galra headquarters. Why was he not a prisoner. Why was he not being tortured and interrogated. Why was Zarkon looking at him with such pained and saddened expressions. Almost caring. Keith's heart skipped a bit.

No.

He would not be deceived by that man. What if he was dreaming. But it looked so real. He could be under some weird galra spell to weaken his mind and make him reveal information. Yeh. That had to be it.

“Keith,” The galra started again, waiting for the teen’s eyes to meet his violet orbs before continuing, “You used to lead the tropes in one of the most important sectors of the empire. Three years ago, you had a fatal encounter with the paladins of Voltron.”

“No…” Keith numbered under Zarkon’s words, “That’s not possible, I’m…”

“You fought very bravely, my son. But the paladins were ready for the battle. They had analysed the terrain and knew some weak points of the soldiers. When you returned to the main ship, you were badly injured and unconscious.” Zarkon took a deep breath as if he himself needed time to process everything, “You were immediately taken to the druids that healed your wounds and you’ve been in a coma ever since.”

“I don’t believe you!” Keith almost shouted, “That’s impossible, don't make a fool out of me!” He took a deep breath and without losing eye contact with Zarkon, continued, “I am the red paladin! Your lies will not deceive me!”

Keith would have continued but the galra emperor interrupted him, “Your memories are shuffled all over, but I’m sure, with time you’ll be able to tell reality and imagination apart again.” Keith was about to protest but was once more interrupted, “I’m sure you’ll notice something in your dreams that will not make sense. And then you’ll be able to tell them apart.”

“I know perfectly well what is real and what is not!” Keith rampaged.

“I will leave you alone now, son,” he uttered making his way to the door, “I’m sure you have a lot of thoughts running through your mind right now. And you need time to collect them.” Keith heard the door close behind him.

What the actual quiznack.

That was not a dream. That could _not_ have been a dream.

Keith walked around the room, eying everything trying to spot an escape, but his thoughts wouldn't let him concentrate. Raging fire burned inside him. The paladin walked to the bed, sitting on the edge. It was comfortable and still warm from his own body heat.

_I’m from earth. I felt the blue lion in the desert, then I was led to Shiro. We rescued him and we found the blue lion. We tracked the lions. I bonded with Red. I was a paladin. I am a paladin. That feeling was real. We all bonded together, we share a bond, that’s why we can form Voltron._ He took a deep breath and let himself fall back on the bed.

_That was real._ He thought.

He remembered when he saw Shiro, laying on that mattress unconscious.

_That was real._

He remembered how it felt when they first formed Voltron, how close he was to them, connected, like he had known them his whole life.

_That was real._

He remembered how his heart shrank when he saw Lance unconscious.

_Real._

The feeling of uselessness he felt as he was locked outside the particle barrier of the Castle.

_Definitely real._

How his heart raced when Lance woke up to greet him with a smile, the warmth in his hand, the softness of his voice.

_Real._

The hopelessness he felt when he thought Zarkon was tracking them through him. How he was responsible for endangering his friends and team. How he almost let everything go to learn something about his past.

_That had to be real._

Allura’s eyes piercing him when she learned he was galra. Shiro hugging him before he left to the weblum mission. Hunk laughing at his sad attempt to make a joke.

It couldn’t be a dream. He refused to believe it was a dream.

 

_You fight like a galra soldier_ , Zarkon’s works ran through his mind as he remembered the day the had stormed into battle, facing the emperor by himself. Keith’s heart skipped a beat as he himself thought something that should have never crossed his mind.

What if Zarkon was telling the truth.

He had told Keith he was a commander of the galra armies, that made him a soldier, right? In a way… If that had been a dream, then, had his consciousness warned him about reality?

No.

That was not a dream! It couldn’t be. Everything felt way too real.

Keith took a deep breath, trying to settle his thoughts and find something that would help figure out what reality was.

_What happened in that fight,_ he tried to recall, but his mind was foggy and apart from some specific images, he had no idea what had happened. The teen made a last effort to recall something, his face almost frowning. _Keeithh!_ The scream ran through his mind making him jerk before he started panting rapidly like something had unexpectedly just scared him.

“Lance…” He mumbled while collecting his thoughts. Why had Lance screamed his name like that? He sounded so desperate and scared. Keith could picture his face in his mind. How his eyes widened, how his eyebrows twisted, his soft lips slowly parting-

“What are you thinkin-”

He stopped. His heartbeat stopping as well in that moment.

“WHat-” He moved his own hand almost as if the was trying to confirm it was indeed his own. Purple fur filled his fingers and the back of his hand. He followed the purple, panic written on his face, the arm was purple as well. The skin, or fur, was soft to the touch but it felt alien. Like it wasn’t his. He could see part of his purple shoulder from the collar of his shirt. His head immediately rose up, like he remembered the most important thing ever, looking around and only settling when his eyes came across a mirror. Keith ran towards it staring at the reflection.

If the reflection didn’t mimic his every movement, his every expression, he would have thought it wasn’t his. At least the eyes looked the same. They seemed almost unfitting of his galra appearance.

“Who am I?” He said. His voice cutting his throat as he spoke. “What have I become?” He took his shirt off as he wondered if his whole body had become like that. The answer hurt through his veins. But a lot less than the realization that came after.

In all his memories, Keith had pale skin like porcelain, his eyes were tender and his ears didn’t look like they belonged to some strange purple cat, nor his teeth like sharp blades. He was a human, not a monster like this.

_You fight like a galra soldier,_ he remembered Zarkon’s words and froze. He knew it all along. A part of his conscious had reminded him he was galra, and that he was part of the empire.

Had it all really been a dream.

_I’m sure you’ll notice something in your dreams that will not make sense. And then you’ll be able to tell them apart,_ Zarkon’s words came to taunt him again.

It couldn't be. Had he imagined everything? Was he really part of the galra empire? And worst of all, a prince? But what scared him the most was the questions that followed, preying on his mind with sicking devotion.

Was he not a part of team Voltron?

He imagined himself walking towards his team. He saw as their faces turned into disgust and anger.

_Who are you?,_ Lance asked as Hunk took a step back, almost hiding behind Shiro. The hatred in Pidge's eyes.

_Shiro,_ Keith tried but the older one interrupted him immediately.

_Stay back!_ he almost shouted, _My team was captured by aliens once, I’m not letting it happen again._

Keith forced himself out of the nightmare his mind had offered him. He was shaking and his panting was hasty. With every word he heard, every expression from his teammates he saw, something twisted inside him. It hurt in a place he had long forgotten it could hurt. He had grown used to those smiling faces, their easy going way, the stupid jokes, but above all, their company.

He felt himself returning to the Keith he was. The Keith that had been alone. The Keith that had lost everything.

_The Keith that had nothing._

But something in him refused to believe it. Maybe it was that voice that kept screaming his name in the back of his head, or maybe he was just too afraid to believe that it had all been a dream. Keith recalled Zarkon expression. How he looked so caring and almost kind like he was genuinely worried about Keith and his mental state.

He had to be strong. Whatever reality was. He needed to stay strong and find a way. It wouldn’t be easy, God he knew it wouldn’t. But he had too.

He tried to measure the situation in a libra, putting every element on the plates to see which one was heavier.

Zarkon didn’t look like he was lying. If Zarkon really was his enemy why would he even come up with something like this. Wouldn’t have Keith been more valuable as a prisoner? The Zarkon from his dreams would have tried to bargain for the black lion. It scared Keith how much the other side of the balance hanged so high compared to this one. But something about him as a paladin of Voltron felt real. He couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was, but something just _felt right_.

He took a deep breath, _There’s only one way to figure this out_ , he remembered the thought of his team pure disgust towards him that had preyed his mind just moments ago. Still so vivid. Still so real. _I have to find them. I’ll know the truth then._

But it wasn't going to be easy. If he tried to escape right now, Zarkon would probably stop him. If Zarkon really was telling the truth then he might just assume Keith mental heath was a complete goner. If Zarkon was indeed the monster from his dreams, he would immediately realize that whatever plan he had, failed, which would result in real trouble for Keith. He was at the core of the enemy’s base after all. A false step could be his total demise.

So he would play along. He had to play along. He needed to figure things out. But he had to do it smart or risk lose everything.

He took a deep breath, deeper than the others. He could do this. He was strong to ‘join’ Zarkon till answers came to him. And was strong enough to face the truth, whatever it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone that read chapter 1 and super thank you for those that left kudos, or comments or bookmarked cuz that just makes me so happy ^^ thank you so much!  
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.


	3. Guilt

“So just- Lance! Get out of there!” The green paladin panicked when she saw the galra emperor aiming for her friend.

“Wha-”

“LAANCE!” The blue paladin sensed as something crashed into his lion with unbelievable strength, projecting him out of the way.

“KEEEIITHHH!!” He felt his throat grow dry as he saw the red paladin take the hit for him. “Keith! Keith! Are you ok?” He insisted with nothing but static as reply. “What the quiznack! Keith, please say something!” He muffled a hiccup, swallowing it down is throat with all his might before he himself was screaming and everything faded to black.

 

***

 

The familiar sight of glass was the first thing he saw. His warm breath fogged the crystal clear material before it disappeared into thin air. Lance came stumbling out of the healing pod, collapsing into some big warm arms that embraced him tightly. The blue paladin felt the breath leaving his lungs but a soft smile filled his face. His mind was still cloudy but he’d been in the healing pods enough times to recognize where he was and assume what had happened.

“Lance,” Hunk exclaimed, “You’re finally awake, buddy!” He seemed relieved and tears were probably already forming in his eyes.

“Hunk! Breathing!” the paladin protested. His body felt like shit and he barely had any strength to stand on his own two feet.

“Sorry! My bad!” the yellow paladin loosened his grip, but didn’t really let go of his friend.

“Lance, you have to eat something and we need to talk abou-”

“Yes, princess! Of course, I’ll go on a date with you!” He recalled how familiar the scene was, and how familiar the reactions were.

But something was missing.

He forced his head around, looking at the reactions of his friends. Allura had sighed and probably rolled her eyes, Coran had muffled a laugh, Hunk declared Lance was as good as ever while Pidge agreed. Shiro grumbled some strange noise and Keith... Keith… Lance looked the other way, and backward and to the front again.

“What’s wrong?”

“Where’s Keith?” he asked raising a brow. The room sank into silence. It left a bad taste in Lance’s mouth, making in hesitate. “Where’s Keith?” he repeated the question, this time speaking slowly to make it more clear, but no one said anything. Lance blinked as his heart dropped. His mind was still foggy, but he forced himself to look for answers since no one would give them to him.

“Lance,” Allura started, “I am sure your memories are still all over the place, you need to eat to regain your strength to-”

“WHERE IS KEITH?” Lance snapped.

“Lance, calm down.” Hunk intervened. He had probably felt Lance’s heartbeat resonating through his body.

“We don't know!”

“Pidge?!” Allura reprimanded her.

“What’s the point! He was there! Even if he doesn’t remember it right now! Lance has the right to know that Keith’s gone!”

_Keith’s gone…_

“Pidge, What do you m-” But before he could ask, his own mind gifted him with the sight he now wished he hadn't remembered. “What happened to Keith?” he asked trying to remain calm and stop his mind from imagining the worst. He remembered Shiro being hit too, and Shiro was alright, so Keith had to be ok too, right? Maybe they were just fooling with him. The guy was probably on the training deck like usual. Lance could almost picture him enter through that door at any minute, panting hard, covered in sweat and with his hair tied back.

But the silence was killing him, telling him it was no joke. He feared the worst, his mind coming up with every scenario he could think of. He needed answers. Still, no one replied to him, he insisted, again and again, looking at his friends, into their eyes, as if they would answer the question. “Is he dead? Was he captured? The galra have him? Is he in a pod? Did he lose an arm? A leg? The galra have him, don’t they? Do they want to trade him for the black lion!? Or is he-”

“Lance, stop!” Shiro almost ordered him. “Stop,” he repeated the word again, more softly this time. Just then it stroke Lance. The way Shiro’s voice sounded, so worried, so scared. He had forgotten how close Shiro and Keith were, but that tone that reminded him had hurt more than a thousand daggers smashed into his back.

“Lance, we don’t really know what happened,” Pidge offered, “We managed to get you guys aboard the castle thanks to Allura’s quick intervention. But Keith wasn’t inside the red lion.” They all saw as Lance’s face twisted from astonishment to panic. “We scanned the area for him, logged into prisoners records in the galra database, asked the Blade of Marmora for help or clues. But… Nothing!”

Lance was silent, which was a rare sight. No one said anything for a long time and they all watched has his face changed forms as realisation stroke him.

“What about Red?” Everyone looked surprised like they hadn’t even thought of that, “She was always saving him! She flew to the other side of the universe to get him! Can’t she find him?”

“The red lion is offline, Lance.” Pidge told him, “We don’t really know why, she doesn’t look hurt, but the hit might have damaged her too.”

“No way… He can’t just vanish!” he snapped, _You selfish, bastard!_

“We know that, buddy! He is somewhere out there and we’re gonna find him!”

“Yes!” Allura added, “And that is why you need to remember everything you can, Lance! You were the closest one when Keith took the hit. If you can remember something, anything that might give us a clue,”

“Wait a second…” awareness written throughout his face, “How long was I in the pod?”

Hunk swallowed the lump that formed in his throat, “Five days, buddy!”

“Five days?! I was in the pod for five days?! I was there for taking the,” he stopped raising his arms as he looked for a word, “the _rebound_ of an attack! An attack that hit Keith directly!” The words didn’t leave his mouth, but they breached his mind.

_It was my fault._

“It wasn’t your fault!” Shiro spoke softly, in a way that only he could. Lance felt like the black paladin had just read his own mind, was he being that transparent? Shiro reached for Lance, resting his hand on the blue paladin’s shoulder. “Keith is-”

“Keith saved my life! He saved me! He got hit because of me!”

_You’re useless._

“Lance, don’t say that!” Hunk hugged him tightly, “It was _not_ your fault!”

_You can’t even dodge an attack. How pathetic. You’re pathetic._

“Don’t worry, Lance! I bet Keith is too stubborn to die!” Pidge smiled, “Wherever he is, we will find him!”

_The Blue paladin?_

“Pidge is right!” The princess continued, “But for now, you need to eat and regain your strength!”

_You’re nothing more than a seventh wheel._

 

***

 

“So just- Lance! Get out of there!” Pidge’s scream filled his ears sending chills throughout his entire body.

Lance moved the controls in his lion, as he tried to figure out what was happening, “Wha-”

“LAANCE!” Keith’s voice echoed in his mind and his heart shrank. The blue paladin wasn’t sure when was the last time he witnessed someone calling his name with so much distress. The sound made Lance’s heart race, threatening to leave his chest. He felt as the red lion bumped into Blue and he was thrown off the course of the attack. His eyes widened at the sight that followed. The black attack stroke the red lion surrounding it with a strange light.

_Dreadful._

Was the only word he could think of to describe the scream that left Keith’s lungs and reached the core of his soul.

 

“KEEEIITHHH!!” Lance shouted and his hand reached forth. The paladin took a deep breath as he tried to figure out where he was and calm himself, “It was just a dream, man.” He told himself, again and again, repeating the words as if he tried to find comfort in them. Lance had forgotten when Keith’s screaming tone had become his alarm clock, keeping him awake throughout nights and nights, that had turned into months and months, that had turned into years and years.

The blue paladin let out a sigh he didn't realise he was holding and lazily sat on the edge of the bed. He was still panting hastily and his whole face was probably covered in sweat. His head turned to the left and he narrowed his eyes, as he tried to see what time it was. He had slept for barely an hour. The blue paladin let himself fall on the bed, allowing his heartbeat stabilize as he considered trying to sleep again. The thought immediately vanished as his mind offered him the sight of that day.

 

A wave of guilt washed him. When Keith disappeared he would have never guessed how things would turn out.

He was the reason for Keith disappearance. Maybe he could even be held responsible for what had happened to Shiro. He was ready to face it all. He was ready to face the rage and disappointment from his team.

But that never really happened.

Shiro had avoided him for some months, but then again, Shiro had avoided pretty much all of them for some months. The black paladin, just like Lance, probably felt responsible for what had happened. And then, there was also the fact that Keith and Shiro had known each other for quite some years. They were close. Everyone knew that Keith was like family to Shiro, so his reaction came to no surprise for them.

Unlike Lance’s.

He himself couldn’t figure out why he was so upset about it. Or maybe, a part of him refused to believe he could be so upset about it. So he did his best to hide it. Lance Mcclain was a genius at acting, after all. He could totally pull it off.

And he did.

During the day his smile would shine like the sun. During the night, rain would fall from his eyes.

But no one needed to know that. He didn’t want anyone to see him curled into himself, face on his knees, arms around his legs. No bright lights in the room. Just him trying to fill the emptiness with tears.

He would cry into his pillow, muffling the sobs into the soft material, making sure no one would hear him. Letting everything out till his head hurt too much to continue, or he fell asleep. He had done it before. So many times.

_He could do it again._

He just didn’t realise he would have to do it for so long.

 

Lance sighed. Sleeping would be a bad idea. Especially if his mind insisted on showing him Keith’s pained expression and dreadful screams. He opted to take a walk around the castle of lions instead. If he tired himself enough, maybe he could manage another hour of sleep.

He picked his coat from a nearby chair resting it on his shoulders without even bothering to dress it and left the room.

The white light that filled the walls of the castle startled his eyes, but he ignored the unpleasant feeling and walked forward. Lance found himself heading for the hangers and was only called back to reality when he heard a sound nearby. He frowned. Who could possibly be awake at this late hours? Curiosity took the best of him, and the blue paladin made his way towards the noise.

“Pidge! Why am I not surprised?” he said when the door opened, revealing the green paladin.

“Yeah! Yeah! I know! I just want to finish this before going to sleep!” she said not even bothering to look at him, “I’m almost done so-”

“Going to sleep? It’s almost morning!”

“Already?” Her head finally moved away from the computer screen as she looked at Lance astonished, “Oh my god! I’m definitely hearing it from Shiro this time!"

Lance protested, “I’m not telling him! You know that!”

“Sure, Lance. But he always figures it out!”

“It’s definitely not the dark circles under your eyes, Pidge!”

“Look who’s talking! You look like shit!” The paladin was taken aback. Not that he didn’t know it himself, “Ohh! Sorry! I shouldn’t have said that… I… ahm”

“It’s ok, Pidge!” Lance offered her the best he could manage of a smile, “Besides we both know it’s true…”

The green paladin hesitated for a moment, probably considering if it was a good idea to bring it up, “You need to move on, Lance.” she said. The blue paladin’s face twisted but before he could argue, she continued, “I know it’s not easy! I really do! But it has been 5 years, Lance!” He looked away with a pained expression.

“Have you found anything?” Was the only thing he said after some time.

“No?!” she uttered, “If I’d found anything, you would be the first person I’d tell!”

“Just keep scanning!”

“I am scanning! I’m always scanning! You remind me of that so many times _every day_ I don’t even think I could live without scanning the universe on a daily basis now.”

Lance didn’t even bother to think of a reply. Five years ago he would have reacted as fast as he could and say something, whatever it was, just to remain with the last word.

_But now, arguing was just another reminder of him._

“But seriously, Lance,” Pidge started after a moment. She looked a lot older, after all, she was almost turning twenty. Pidge had let her hair grow longer again, and she normally tied it back, “You can’t stay like this forever. Even Shiro is doing better than you right now! And I seriously never thought that would be possible.”

Lance spared her a glance, “Keith is alive.” he murmured, “We have to find him!”

_I have to find him_

“And If he’s out there, we will!” She wasn’t sure if Keith was really out there, anymore, but as long as they were paladins, and as long as they were fighting the galra, they would keep looking for the red paladin. No matter what.

Pidge looked at the blue paladin. Lance was the only one that refused, with every cell in his body, to even acknowledge the possibility that Keith could be dead. Even Shiro had considered at least once. He had never said it clearly, but the way he spoke make Pidge realise it.

In the first months, things were really complicated. Lance tried to remain himself but everyone knew he felt responsible. Shiro, on the other hand, overworked himself. Training harder. They all knew how Shiro felt towards the Kerberos mission, and how responsible he felt for letting the galra capture them. How responsible he felt for being the only one gifted with a chance to escape. And, just as he was starting to handle the whole situation better, Keith vanishes.

He and Keith always were pretty close, so it made the whole situation even worst. Pidge could only imagine the amount of nights Shiro had spent wide awake, with nightmares taunting him everytime he tried to close his eyes. So it didn’t surprise anyone to see him so desperate, so worried, so lost. But he managed, especially thanks to Allura.

But, Lance wasn’t so lucky. She studied him carefully. He looked as tired as ever. Pidge recalled how well he had managed to deceive everyone for a couple of years. Like Keith’s disappearance had never affected him.

It had started with minor things, but the first one Pidge noticed was the way his usual bickery died out over time. How he slowly stopped caring if his skin care routine was hiding the dark circles under his eyes. How he gave up on trying to shave every day. His hair was longer too, and the green paladin wondered if he had even noticed it.

His usual bright smiles had almost ceased to exist. His sarcasm was still on point most times, but the occasions worth of it were rarer and rarer.

“My actions back there brought us here.” Lance said, his voice sounded almost dead, “We managed to hold out without Voltron for 5 years thanks to the Blade of Marmora and the allies we’ve formed. We’ve been gradually saving more planets and rescuing more aliens from the galra. We built bases to protect our allies and everything. But we can’t just _end_ it. Not without Voltron. Not without Keith!”

“I guess you’re right. We could have delivered a heavy blow on the empire if the red lion would let someone else pilot her!” Pidge recalled when the red lion turned back online some weeks after Keith’s disappearance. As they discussed who could possibly take Keith’s place, the lion closed the particle barrier around herself, not letting anyone nearby. Allura was stunned. Was the red lion impulsive, rash and selfish to the point where it would leave the universe without his defender for the sake of being piloted by a specific man?

Apparently, yes.

“Red has a strong bond with Keith!” Lance answered, “She knows he is alive!”

“Then why won’t she just go get him! She has done that before!”

“I don’t know, Pidge…” he confessed, “But I have to fix this.” The words came out barely louder than a whisper, but the still small teenager managed to hear them.

“You’re still blaming yourself?!” Her voice thundering in misbelieve, “What happened back there was _not_ your fault! We made a choice to try and save that planet. We fucked up. Shiro got hit pretty bad. Keith. You! But-”

“He took the hit for me, Pidge!” Lance uttered raising his arm as if he was trying to make a point, “I couldn’t even dodge it. I was the one that hesitated when Shiro told us to leave as fast as we could if something went wrong. I insisted on saving the planet! I-”

“Lance, stop!” she cut him off, unable to stomach that terrible reasoning, “Look, I of all people know what it's like to be looking for someone without having a clue! I know it’s different but back on earth when I was looking for my father and Matt,” she tailed off, “I was so desperate, it made me blind, I just wanted to find them at all costs, I-”

“Pidge, you were not responsible for what happened on-”

“You’re not responsible either, Lance!”

“-the Kerberos mission, and you were able to find clues to Matt’s whereabouts. We haven’t found Keith, or his body, his bayhard, a piece of his armor, nothing!”

“I know it’s different, but I found Matt, Lance! We found, Matt! And we’ll find Keith too!”

“You don’t get it, do you?” he looked at the teenager next to him, “Even if we find him it’s been so many years... What if he is not himself anymore? What if he forgot about us? Like some sort of amnesia or something? He could be stuck in some weird planet without being able to escape. Or what if he was captured and sent to the arena. Shiro lived like that for one year and we know how long it took him to recover. If Keith had to endure that for 5 years, who knows what -”

“Lance!” Pidge stopped him once more, not really able to hear his voice sound like that. So filled with agony and regret. “There is no point in trying to think those scenarios. We don’t know what happened to him. We just have to keep looking!”

Lance knew that Pidge was doing her best to comfort him. But a part of him hated how everyone had managed so well over the years. How even without Voltron they were freeing people and fighting the galra. It was harder. It was a lot harder, but it was possible.

He hated it.

It felt like everyone in his team was forcing him to stand up and leave Keith behind.

The blue paladin hated feeling like this above all.

He hated himself for being so pathetically useless. How he couldn’t even help looking for Keith. He couldn’t make any machine to help or do Pidge’s maths witchcraft. He couldn’t do anything but cry or worry.

He had tried to be there for the team, smiling to give them his strength but he had no more energy left.

 _I should have been the one gone missing, not him,_ Lance thought, _He could do more to protect the universe than I ever will._

The blue paladin felt his eyes water. He tried to fight the urge to wipe away the tears and blinked hoping they’d go away. But he already was beyond calming himself. A stream of blue flowed down his ocean eyes, worrying the green paladin, that was almost caught by surprise. Lance immediately curled himself into a ball trying to hide his tears and muffle his cries.

“Lance! Oh my god!” She did her best to reach as close and she could and embrace him. “It’s ok, Lance!” She felt the blue paladin jerk under her touch as he muffled a hiccup, “You don’t need to put up a front like that around me, man!” she said softly, “I know it hurts, so just let it all out! We’re all here for each other, for the good and the bad moments!”

The blue paladin tried to keep his composure. He bit his bottom lip, demanding it to stop shaking, never daring to raise his teary face. But it has already too late.

As he felt the little girl’s arms tightly roughed around him he came loose. Clear as the sea, he melted into the embrace as he turned to water.

Pidge just stood there for some long minutes, holding the paladin in her embrace, comforting him in her warmth.

“You know, Lance,” the girl started not really bothering to move her hair away from Lance’s crying mess, “I was there when Zarkon aimed at you,” she started sadly, “Yet I just stood there without being able to do anything but scream ‘Look out’. That’s pretty pathetic if you ask me. Hunk was distracted with Shiro but I saw it all and if Keith hadn’t pushed you like that I would have probably just stood there the whole time. Completely frozen.” The green paladin seemed to be fighting the tears herself, “If I had done something, maybe Keith wouldn’t have taken that hit, and he would probably still be here with us.”

Lance forced himself to look into the girl’s eyes. Her brown orbs widened as she saw the crying mess he had become. It hurt to see Lance like that.

“If something had happened to you, I would have never forgiven myself.” She observed as Lance tried to speak, but she continued before he could, “And I will never forgive myself if something happened to Keith!”

“Keith shouldn’t have taken that hit! The hit was aimed at me after all! Who gave him the right to act so selfless all of a sudden! It’s not like him!” blue met brown, “I should have taken that hit, _not him._ He is the best pilot of our generation, he could do all that cool junk without breaking a sweat. He is an irreplaceable part of Team Voltron. But me? I’m just a boy from Cuba, I can’t ev-”

Lance felt as Pidge’s little hands slapped him with all her strength. His cheek heated up from the impact, becoming slightly redder than usual.

“Don’t ever say that again!” she uttered. Tears in her unwavering eyes. “Don’t even dare to think of it!” A hiccup left her throat, “Why would you even think that?” she cried, “Can’t you see how important you are?” She hugged him with all her might, “We love you so much, Lance. Please _don’t_ do anything stupid! We need you _here_ with _us_!”

They stayed like that for a while. None of them said anything else and the silence only grew stronger when their cries died.

“I’m sorry,” Lance started, “I had no intention of making you worry like that, pequeñita.” He softly caressed her hair. “I’m not going anywhere. We’ll find Keith and make him pay for making us worry like this!”

Pidge smiled and Lance was already feeling better. He looked at her provocatively, raising his eyebrow, “And here I thought you were becoming a gentle lady. You’re still as savage as always!”

She laughed, “Come on. Let’s go before Shiro comes lecture us!”

“Lecture you! I slept a lot!”

“Sure…”

 


	4. The Red Lion

Lance woke up panting hastily. Again.

He wondered if he had managed at least an hour of sleep. _Apparently no,_ he thought when he looked into the earth like clock Pidge had made him. The blue paladin sighed, getting back on his feet and walking towards the bathroom. He turned on the water and lazily washed his face, feeling the cold liquid send chills down his back. He didn’t even bother to look at his own reflection.

As Lance left his room, he paced through the Castle, drifting into his thoughts. He had toured down these halls so many times, he already knew every detail there was to know about them.

His feet took him to the hangars. When the doors opened he was washed by a wave of concern. Lance smiled apologetically. He could feel Blue’s worry throughout the day thanks to their bond, but as he got closer, her concern became more and more obvious.

 _Sorry to worry ya_ girl _,_ he thought, projecting it into the bond. Lance smiled tenderly when he felt the soft purr in his mind. With a simple thought, his Lion opened her mouth and Lance walked inside, settling on the pilot chair.

He felt safer sitting on the black chair than in anywhere else inside the castle. It had become a habit for him to make his way to the hangar wherever he wasn’t managing and didn’t want to burden is friends with his problems.

Blue brought him good memories. Reminders of Earth and the clear ocean that waited for him to return. Blue was a safe haven for Lance, and the only place he could sleep comfortably. As a much as sleeping in a chair allows it.

He closed his eye, leaning cozily on the chair as Blue bathed his mind with the serene waves of the sea. Lance enjoyed the comforting images she sent him, relaxing more and more, finally daring to close his eyes without fearing the worst.

 

***

 

Keith closed the door behind him, taking deep breaths as he let his back rest against it.

He hated it.

He stopped himself from screaming, losing the strength in his legs and sliding down to the floor, his back never leaving the door. Keith hid his face in his own lap, uselessly trying to calm himself.

It had happened again. The galra had taken over another planet. Subduing the people, destroying their homes, killing their hopes. And he had done nothing to stop them.

_He had helped them._

He knew he needed to make them believe he was one of them. He needed to get Zarkon to let him go to the front lines where he could meet Voltron, but the galra emperor kept refusing.

Keith hated how concerned Zarkon looked. Worrying for his safety. _“You haven’t fully recovered yet, son. It is too dangerous!”_ It gave Keith chills and made him want to puke. Keith tried to argue with everything he had. Even suggesting he wanted to get revenge on the paladins for making him lose 3 years of his life, but nothing really worked.

And in the end, the only thing Keith was allowed to do on the front lines was enslaving people he should be freeing.

He hated himself for not doing anything to stop it. But he feared his action could just make everything worst. His claws sank into the flesh on his left shoulder, drawing blood from it. But he could barely feel the pain. He had no right to feel pain, not after all the hurt and suffering he had engulfed into those people.

He had failed them and had no right to call himself a paladin. He had no right to want to return and help the paladins. But somehow a part of him never let go of his own desire to do so.

Keith wanted to leave. But he had nowhere to go. He couldn’t find team Voltron and learn what was real or not. At this point, with the wrongs he had done, he was afraid to find them. Afraid they would hate him for betraying his mission and his friends. Afraid they would see that,

 

_He had become one of the monsters he swore to defeat._

 

Keith got up and walked towards the bed, hoping sleep would be kinder to him. Yet his eyes fell to the mirror on the wall.

He hated it.

How used he had gotten to the way he looked. He could barely even remember the old Keith anymore. What he looked like. What he was like. How did he talk? Walked? Fought?

 _Who am I?_ his hand reached to the mirror, resting it on the cold material. He stared at his own eyes, looking how dead they had become. He couldn’t even cry anymore.

Keith didn’t know how much he could take. The innocent people he had killed, the families he had destroyed, the screams from the rebels as they were tortured. Everything came back to taunt him. The amount of people he was forced to watch dying in the arena while facing monstrous creatures.

Keith mind went to Shiro every time he was forced to see those fights. How unfair they were. Sometimes the fighters were already hurt before being taken to the ring.

He hated it.

Yet he did nothing to stop it. Just watched, as innocent lives were killed in front of him. Again and again. In the arena and in fights during the war. Again and again. All around him. He had helped. He had killed them.

His hands had become red, making his old title not that unfitting.

_The red paladin._

Red indeed. He just wanted it all to end. He needed something he could believe in. Something worth fighting for. It didn’t matter what it was. It didn’t matter if it was right or wrong. He needed something. A purpose. Before he succumbed to his own darkness.

 

***

 

Lance waved Blue a goodbye as he left his hangar. Blue always managed to make him feel better no matter how low he had sunk.

As he walked through the white corridors to exist the place he felt something. Something he had never felt before. He couldn't even begin to describe what it felt like. Maybe warmth was a good word to illustrate it, but not completely.

The blue paladin stopped walking, concentrating on the feeling, trying to understand what it was. His eyes gradually finding the giant white door.

He froze.

Lance stared at it. There wasn’t a single doubt now. He knew where the energy was coming from. He knew what the energy was. And now that he did, he wished he didn’t know. Maybe that way he would have been able to ignore it and walk away.

The red lion.

Lance gulped. He was probably the only one of them who hadn’t entered that hangar for the last 5 years. Allura was the one that visited it the most. She kept trying to reason with the lion, telling her that the Universe needed a defender but Red ignored the princess. Allura had given up after the third year of trying. Pidge and Hunk argued too but in vain. Just like Lance, Shiro avoided the hangar for some long years. But one day he decided to go there. He had stayed inside for hours and when he left he never explained what had happened.

Lance hesitantly looked at the door. _No._ He shook his head. _I’m not ready for this yet._ He admitted, finally deciding to move further away from the door and exit the hangars. But as he did, he sensation only grew stronger. It felt like fire now. Burning his core from under, somehow. A familiar sensation.

Lance looked over his shoulder, eying the door he had left behind. With a ‘tsh’ he turned around, gathering the remains of his strength and he walked towards the door.

When he reached close enough, they opened. _No turning back now,_ he thought, refusing to back down.

The place looked white and clean but something in the air gave away that this area hadn't been visited in months. Lance forced himself to look up from the floor, wondering if the red lion was annoyed at him for intruding.

That place was Keith’s and Red’s. It belonged to them and their raging fire. He doubted a burning place like this would welcome any water.

But something stopped him from leaving. He gathered his strength, once more, and looked at the lion.

She was offline, the particle barrier glowing a red that filled the white walls. Just like the others had told him. It felt stupid of him to think he could be gifted with a different sight. He let out a small laugh muffled by a sigh. But now that he was here, now that he had come this far, he had to do it.

“I know I’m probably the last person you want to see, and since you don’t really enjoy having anyone that isn’t Keith around, I guess that makes it extra bad, hum,” Lance looked at the red lion and sighed, “I know I should have done this sooner, but I’m a goddamn coward when it comes to this kind of stuff, and well,” he looked away hesitating before let it loose, “I’m sorry! I really am! It was my fault you and Keith got hit by that black laser thing and there isn’t a single moment that I don't wish that he hadn’t done it. He could help more the team then I can. I’m just dragging them down.” Lance’s eyes were watering but he forced himself to look at the lion one last time before leaving.

She was looking back at him. The yellow glow seemed sad, yet it still burned with might. Lance stopped. She had turned back online. Why? It couldn’t be because of him, they didn’t have any bond. Red was Keith’s lion. So why?

“Yeah… I was already leaving so…” he turned around to leave but stopped. Something warm in this mind was calling him. Lance looked behind at the lion, eyeing her from above his shoulder.

“Did you? Just?...” Lance stared at the lion for a couple of minutes. She appeared to be looking at him, maybe, “Nah,” He sat on the floor in front of the red particle barrier, a burning sensation filled him again. A strong presence somehow familiar. Keith.

Allura wasn’t kidding when she said the quintessence of the paladin was mirrored in the lion. Red felt just like Keith, and for some reason, Lance couldn’t stop himself from smiling.

“You must miss him a lot, right? You and Keith seemed very close.” The words sounded so fake when he said them. Lance felt like he could be intruding too much. “I miss him too! I think I got too used to having him around, always doing stupid stuff and storming off on pure instinct. I never really thought that one day he could be _gone_. I want to find him so badly and smack him so hard for disappearing." He paused, "Sometimes, I walk by the training deck and almost hear the sounds of the crashing swords,” Lance confessed, “He used to spend so much time in there, It feels like the place is always empty now.”

Red wasn’t really doing anything and Lance almost forgot he was talking to her.

“I miss someone to bicker with. Just, like, for the fun of it. He would accept all of my stupid challenges and competitions. And man could he make comebacks! Even tho he was just completely oblivious sometimes, What’s so hard about the I say Vol, You say Tron, thing anyway?”

Lance laughed as he recalled how Keith looked at him, eyebrow raised, ‘Vol- tron?’ It should be illegal to look that cute while saying something so stupid.

“I just hope he's ok…” Lance thought out loud, “So ahm… Yeah! Nice talking to ya, Red!” He started to get up, using the particle barrier as support. “I’m really sorry, Red. I wish things hadn’t turned out this way. But I promise you I’ll fix this-” Lance fell, face to the floor, “Auch. What the hell, man?!” He went unexpectedly quiet when he realised the particle barrier was gone. Lance felt her energy flow like it had before he entered the room. She wasn’t hiding her feelings anymore, letting them overflow to Lance.

It was confusing at first to distinguish his feelings from hers but, after some time he started to understand.

Sadness, longing, loss, fear, anger, love, concern, terror. Red was burning with emotions towards Keith and his situation.

 _I miss him too._ Lance’s eyes shot up at the red lion eyeing her with awe.

He smiled after a moment, “We’ll get him back, I promise!”

_Don’t make promises you can’t keep young paladin._

“It doesn’t hurt to try!” Lance felt like the lion was almost avoiding him.

 _You didn’t have to apologize to me, paladin!_ She said inside his mind, regret and dread storming into Lance from her. _I was the one that failed to protect him. I failed my paladin._

Lance’s mouth had probably dropped. He felt so stupid for never realizing it. Of course Red would blame herself, it was so obvious but he had never thought about it. That was it. That was why she was talking to him and not to anyone else. Lance had wondered why Red hadn’t picked Shiro instead. It made more sense to him that Keith’s lion would try to communicate to someone close to him. But now he understood why. This wasn’t about Keith, well it was but, it was more about Red and how she felt. And to whom she related. Both of them missed him, blamed themselves. _And couldn’t move on._

“Red? Do you know what happened to Keith?” he asked hesitantly.

_Not entirely. The black laser affected me too._

“I see… I guess we just have to keep looking”

 _But I know he is alive._ Lance looked at her face filling with relief, _I can feel it. Our bond is not broken._

“That’s the best news I got in years! Honest!” He should have come here sooner.

“Do you know where he is?”

_In a way..._

“What do you mean, exactly? Where is he? Why didn’t you go get him?”

 _He didn’t call for my help or reached for the bond. He is not in danger._ Lance gulped, sensing her fear, _But he is in a dangerous place. Every moment he stays there,_

“Red?”

_He loses himself more._

“Ok, I get it! Tell me where he is and we will work a way to get him out!”

“Lance, buddy, are you here?” The yellow paladin walked inside the hangar, “Oh there you are! I’ve been looking for you all over the goddamn castle! Do you even _know_ how big this thing is?”

“Hum… Sorry, Hunk-”

“Oh yeah, sure no problem man, just tell us when you decide to chill in the red lion's hangars, next ti-” He finally seemed to understand what was happening, “HOLY QUIZNAK?! WHy- why are you standing next to the- Where is the particle barrier, man? what did you do to it? Is it like a- Lance what is going on!?”

Lance felt Red tense and as she did the red particle barrier shut around them.

“Oh my god, Lance!” Hunk hurried towards the red lion, “Give Lance back!” he told the red lion before screaming, “Guys! Keith’s lion is trying to kidnap Lance! I think she’s gonna kill him.”

“Hunk, calm down!” Lance told him slowly, “No need to panic. Red wasn’t doing anything.” Lance could feel Red’s burning fire try to consume him. She was pissed and definitely not pleased with Hunk nearby presence. “Hunk, buddy, just trust me on this ok?” The yellow paladin looked at his best friend confused, but nodded rapidly anyways, “Just go back to the door and don't come any closer.”

Hunk looked suspicious but thankfully he obeyed Lance’s request and walked towards the door. Red relaxed instantly. Apparently, she took them as a threat. She was probably just afraid they would try to replace Keith.

The blue paladin tried to reach the red lion, asking her once more where Keith was with his mind, but she was too revolted. No answer came only emotion overflowed. Lance did his best to calm Red down.

 _Nor Hunk, nor anyone else is trying to discard Keith away,_ Lance told her. He knew Red had heard him, _Don’t worry big guy._

 

_No one but Keith is gonna be your paladin, I promise._

 

With that, the lion seemed to calm down. _I have to see what they need, but I’ll be back as soon as I can, trust me!_ He declared and Red roared in his mind once more. Lance smiled, “Open up, please.” He didn’t realise he had said the words out loud. Red opened a crack on the barrier allowing him to walk outside before shutting it again.

“Wh- what was that, Lance?!” Hunk asked him from the other side of the room, “Did you just, with the red lion?”

“Hunk, slow down! You’re stressing her!”

“You know how she feels? Holy crow, Lance! Did you just bond with the red lion or something?”

Lance stopped. He hadn’t even thought of it that way, but maybe Hunk was right.

“That means you could pilot-”

“NO!” Lance stormed and red roared behind him.

 

_Ice can burn just like Fire._

 

Hunk let out a small, wow, as he thought, _They are perfectly synchronized, man!_

“I’m the blue paladin. I’m not piloting the red lion!” he declared harshly, “And I’m not letting anyone pilot it!” Red agreed with him, their feelings overflowing in one voice, “Keith is the red paladin! He is the only one that _can_ and _will_ pilot Red!”

Hunk blinked, “Oh! right! Keith! I almost forgot! You need to come out fast man! Pidge-”

“Did Pidge found him?”

“I don't know, man. She refused to say anything without you there!”

Lance barely heard the last part as he dashed towards the bridge, immediately exiting the hangar. He felt a curious blue and a suspicious Red in his mind, but he never stopped running. His lungs burned for air but he ignored the feeling and dashed faster. And faster. He didn’t notice Hunk calling him and asking him to wait. He only stopped when the doors from the bridge took too long to open.

He dashed inside, “What- where how? Pidge!” Was the only thing the others understood when he spoke. Shiro looked at him with worry in his face.

“Lance, calm down…”

“Yeah, dude,” Pidge intervened, “Do yourself a favor and breathe.” Lance did. The pants hastily leaving his mouth.

Lance tried again a couple of seconds later, “What happened? Where is he? You found him, right?”

“Yes and no!” Pidge declared as Hunk walked inside the room and dropped dead on the floor when he got close enough.

“Pidge?” This time was Shiro who asked.

“Just let me explain everything from the beginning,” she started, “I was scanning for Keith whereabouts like I normally do every day,” she sent Lance a look but he ignored her, “When I came across a galra transmission. I managed to record its feed,” she clicked a couple of keys on her computer and the audio started to play.

Two different voices took turns in a conversation. Lance paid extra attention to every detail.

“...I still can’t believe it. Prince Lotor is beyond crazy. To think he would be able to capture a paladin...”

Pidge stopped the audio and looked at them.

Hunk was the first one to react, not really bothering to raise from the floor, “They captured a paladin? And we’re all here so… does that mean they have Keith?”

Shiro looked at Pidge and she took that as her cue to continue the audio.

“...of Voltron.”

“Shhhh, don’t say that! If someone found out I heard that conversation, they’ll kill me!”

Lance looked at Shiro.

“That’s it.” Pidge declared adjusting her glasses, “I hate to say it, but with Keith missing for 5 years this is way too good to be true.”

“Glad to know I’m not the only one thinking it’s a trap.” Lance let out.

“But why now?” Hunk asked, “I mean Zarkon knows we’re missing the red paladin, right? I mean it’s not hard to figure it out! We haven’t formed Voltron in five years! Even a child could figure it out!”

“Paladins,” Allura spoke and they all looked at her, “This sounds indeed too much like a trap. They do not just reveal they have the red paladin but also hint he is in Lotor’s ship. Which, was sighted near our location just a moment ago.”

“Exactly!” Pidge told them, “It’s just too many coincidences!”

“So we all agreed it’s a trap, but now what?” Hunk turned to Shiro.

The black paladin looked at them.

“This is obviously a trap,” he stated, “But-”

“We’re going!” Lance concluded.

“Lance?!” The princess turned to the blue paladin, “It’s too dangerous! We can not risk losing someone else.”

"Allura is right!” Shiro agreed, Lance was about to protest but the black paladin continued, “But so is Lance!”

“What? Shiro are you out of your mind!?” She approached him, “I understand you want to find Keith, but deliberately going into a trap is not going to help!”

“Yeah sure!” Lance snapped, “But what if he _is_ in there!” Lance pointed out.

“I understand your worry, Allura, but I have to agree with Lance. If there is even a slim chance of Keith being there we have to look for him. I could never live with myself if he was in there but we had ignored it because it sounded like a trap.”

“Agreed!” Pidge said while Hunk nodded.

“We won't get our hopes up and if it turns out to be a trap we’ll be more than ready!”

“I hope you paladins know what you’re doing!” Coran declared. He had been too quiet and Shiro had a bad feeling about it.

“Ok,” Allura sighed, “But promise me that all of you will return!”

“Of course!” Pidge declared.

“Totally! Bet the food on the galra prisons suck, anyways!”

Shiro smiled at her, a silent promise that he would never leave.

She turned to the blue paladin that seemed to be deep in thought, “Lance?”

“Oh yeah. No way I wouldn’t return knowing a beautiful woman was here waiting for me!” He winked. Allura rolled her eyes and Shiro didn’t seem pleased with his remark either.

 

***

 

The galra prince reclined in his armchair, his left arm laying lazily on the side as the news came to him.

The trap was a success.

His father was right. Bait them with something too irresistible and they will fall into it even if they know it is an ambush.

“We’ve captured one of the paladins and his lion, Sir!”

Lotor smirked, touching his chin, “Bring him to me!” he ordered. The galra soldier bowed, then walked outside delivering the orders. Lotor wondered which of the paladins would be, in his excitement he had forgotten to ask the color.

Black? The decisive head of Voltron. His father would be pleased to recover his rightful lion and the champion would return to the arena. It would be funny to see Keith’s face twist at the sight of the return of the champion.

Yellow? Not a big catch as the black, but still Lotor thought the paladin was strong enough for the arena. It would be interesting to broadcast “the death of the Yellow paladin”, crushing the hope and faith of those that still had them.

Green? The pilot of intellect and daring. The little thing would probably be no good in the arena, but Lotor knew her family had been prisoners of the empire. He could taunt her with information about her father. Maybe he could even retrieve the human and torture him in front of her. Maybe she would be smart enough to give up.

Or Blue?

“Let quiznaking go of me!” a voiced echoed in the corridors before the guards dragged the blue paladin in the room.

Lotor sighted. Definitely not the best catch. Could he even put up a fight in the arena? He looked so thin and weak. It wouldn’t be interesting if he didn’t resist or fought back.

“Oh look!” Lance echoed, “Prince Loser!” One of the guards smacked his face ruining the paladin’s face. Lotor waved the guards to stop and Lance sis out some blood.

“I would watch that sharp tongue of yours, paladin!” he told him, grabbing his chin and raising it slightly. Lance growled. “I heard you realised what my trap was and dashed to it. Smart. Otherwise, I would have captured you all.”

“Even a child could see through that ridiculous trap of yours!” Lance spat out.

“Yet, you still got caught!”

“It was the only way to get that thing to stop!”

“So you sacrificed yourself for your team?” Lotor laughed, “How heroic!” he joked. Lance wanted to punch the galra prince in the face, and he would if he wasn’t chained or the guards didn’t keep their grip on him that tight.

Of course, he would have sacrificed himself for them. They were all he had left right now. They were his family and the reason he could keep moving forward.

 

He had hated the way Pidge had told him to stop when she realised what he was doing. “Shiro get them out of here quick!” He remembered telling the black paladin.

He knew Shiro would have taken the place, but he also knew he was still recovering from his imprisonment. He knew Shiro would never completely recovered. It scared him to think he was delivering himself to an enemy that had hurt Shiro for life. And just the thought of finding out the stuff they had done to his leader send chills down his spine.

But Lance didn’t waver. He couldn’t afford to. They were too important for him to lose. He would live and try to escape with everything he had, so the paladin turned off the communicators before Hunk’s sobs sank into his ears.

 

Lotor seemed upset when Lance didn’t answer him, so he decided o rub a little bit of salt into the wound.

“Self-sacrificing paladins are my favourite type to taunt!” Lance looked at him not really sure if he had understood the meaning of the words, “He blows up so fast, makes teasing even more fun!” His eyes widening. There wasn’t a single doubt in his mind now, Lotor was talking about-

“Yes, paladin!” The prince gave a sly smirk, “We _do_ have him!”

“That’s impossible! We looked for him everywhere!”

“Yeah, I know you did! But not in the right places.”

“You’re lying!” Lance spat fighting against the guards.

“Me? Lying? What would I win with it?” He looked into the blue eyes, “Keith is like a brother to me, you know? I almost felt sorry for him. To be abandoned by those he held dear like that, the poor little thing.”

Lance snapped, fighting against the restrains harder and cursing Lotor with every word he could recall.

“Were the two of you close?” Lance stopped and looked at prince as the galra make an expression as if he was trying to remember something, “I don’t recall him ever speaking of you!”

“Shut your quiznak!”

Lotor laughed, “Ohh you could say better than that. Don’t worry little paladin. I would actually enjoy seeing your reaction to how much he has changed. He is practically one of us now.”

Lance laughed, “Now I know you’re lying! You don’t know Keith at all! He doesn't do subduing or follows anyone. He is stubborn like no one else, but smart and he would never betray us!”

“I will let you see with your own eyes, then!”


	5. Captive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the late update but college just happened (I'm so dead and tired) and since this chapter had a lot to cover and I didn't want to half-ass it... It took a little longer to finish. ^^''  
> Anyway, Thank you everyone that reads and is reading my fic. I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> PS. It's quiznacking late as quiznak and I couldn't re-read the whole thing decently, so I'll prob re-read it again tomorrow and find a decent amount of stupid mistakes to embarrass myself with. I'll have it fixed tomorrow. I hope.

“Shiro! Get them out of here quick!” Lance’s voice was still ringing in the back of his mind. It was at times like this that Shiro hated being the leader. He hated having to decide, but he couldn’t let anyone else carry that burden. The weight of all their lives rested on his shoulders.

And he had failed them. _Countless times._

And the consequences of his actions and decisions were showing themselves as they were taken apart, paladin after paladin.

And he was responsible.

Keith had been the first. He stepped up for the team when the black paladin had fallen unconscious and paid an outrageous price. Lance had followed, giving himself up for their sake. “We need you, Shiro!” he could still hear the blue paladin say as he flew to his demise, “Only we know how hard it was without you around!” Pidge had realised what Lance was planning by then, and her screams would forever haunt his dreams. “Shiro! Get them out of here quick!”

And he had. The three of them made safely back to the castle thanks to Lance. _At the cost of Lance._

“Shiro, are you alright?” he heard Allura’s voice as she reached for him. Shiro couldn’t fake a yes, nor a smile. His mind racing with regret and blame.

Keith was like a little brother to him. He looked so alone and lost, Shiro felt pulled towards him. The need to help him, to give him something worth living for, a connection, a family. He couldn’t count the nights he had stayed wide awake, picture Keith enduring everything the galra had made him go through. He couldn't call himself a brother anymore and he would accept if Keith decided to hold a grudge towards him. He had become hopeless, too scared and worried for the red paladin to be able to reason.

But his team was there for him and he was able to move on, for their sake. His team needed him to be strong and keep on fighting. He never gave up on Keith, and he never would.

Everything he had worked so hard to overcome had reached for him again yet again.

“We-we have to get him back!” Hunk stormed inside as the doors opened, already panicking. Shiro couldn’t even tell him to calm down. He couldn’t promise him they would get Lance back. He couldn't do anything.

“Hunk, calm down. You know we can not rush like that!” Allura intervened, “It would only make the situation worse!”

“Don’t tell me to calm down! I’m calm! We have to get Lance back! We can't let those purple aliens hurt him!”

“I understand your concern, Hunk,” Shiro watched as Allura approached the yellow paladin.

“But nothing!”

“Lance won't be able to take it!” Pidge appeared, not even bothering to hide the tears flowing down her face, “He was barely holding himself together! The galra will notice it! They will exploit him! He- I- What could happen to him!”

“If we don’t get Lance back right now, we might be too late!” Hunk agreed.

“Paladins, calm down!”

“We’re losing time!” Pidge almost scream, “Every second waste here is a second we could use to get Lance back! We don't know how long he will be able to endure.”

Pidge was right. Assuming Lance could endure it long enough for them to think of a good plan to save him was naive. And he of all people knew what the galra were capable of.

“Shiro?” Pidge look at him, probably wondering why he was so quiet. He looked back at her, guilt in his eyes. He knew they were a team, but right now the simple thought of losing someone else to the galra frightened him more than anything. He wanted to go by himself and rescue Lance alone, without endangering anyone else.

He couldn’t bring himself to utter a word, almost like he had forgotten how to speak.

“This is enough!” Hunk said, “I can’t stay here and do nothing!” The yellow paladin walked away towards the exit.

“Hunk? Where are you going?” Coran spoke.

“I’m getting Lance back!” he declared.

“NO!” An inhuman cry echoed through the air and Shiro only understood it was his when everyone looked at him. He looked at the yellow paladin.

_I don’t think I can endure losing someone else to them._

He didn’t say a word, yet the paladin understood his silent prayers.

“I’m so sorry, Shiro!” He cried, “I- I- I’m swo sworry!” Hunk walked towards the black paladin hugging him and the green paladin with all his strength.

“He promised he wouldn’t do anything stupid! I told him how much we needed him,” Pidge started mumbling, “We’re already falling apart.” She hid herself into Hunk's strong embrace, but everyone had heard her and soon the princess and Coran had joined them in their earthling custom.

The 5 of them stayed like that for some long minutes, regaining their strength until Shiro finally spoke.

“I know we all want to rescue Lance as fast as possible. I too want to fly there myself, I am also worried, wondering what could have happened to him, but we can't lose ourselves. There is too much resting on our shoulders. The universe is depending on us. Lance is depending on us. We are a team, we have to work together and get him back.”

“Yes!” Pidge said with a small smile, “This time is different! This is completely different from what happened with Keith! We know that Lance was taken by the galra. We know where to look!”

“But he could have been taken anywhere!”

“Not exactly,” Shiro argued, “Zarkon will do anything to stop us from rescuing Lance. He will want to show the universe he has one of the paladins.”

“And there is only one place where he could do that,” Allura agreed.

“The main ship!” Hunk concluded.

“Yet with only 3 lions,” Pidge pointed out, “We won't be able to do much. We’ll be delivering ourselves to Zarkon”

“We can’t just leave Lance behind!”

“We won't!” Shiro promised.

 

***

 

Lance took another deep breath, his body feeling too heavy. He could barely even hear the voice of the galra prince anymore, but there was no need to. He had already memorized all the questions he was asking.

“Where is the sanctuary?”, “How many allies do you have?”, “Where are their bases”, “What is Voltron’s next move?” An endless loop screaming in his mind.

The prince grabbed his chin, piercing his claws into Lance’s tanned flesh, as blood flowed lazily. But Lance felt no pain. He couldn’t even feel anything anymore. His vision started to blur as darkness overtook him.

“Again!” Lotor ordered one of the druids. He approached the paladin, injecting him with a small dose of corrupted quintessence.

_Again._

The blue paladin closed his eyes, doing his best to remain himself. Closing his hands into fists, piercing his nails into his own flesh, refusing to scream as he tried to overthrow what was to come. Not give in. Not give up. His big mouth would not be the downfall of his friends. Never. He refused for that to happen above anything else.

_Stay calm, Lance. Breathe._

His eyes widened when he saw one of the druids be thrown to the other side of the room, “Lance!” He forced his head to look towards the familiar voice.

“Keith!” His heart skipped a bit. It was him. He was here. Right next to him, helping him escape, rescuing him, saving him once more. The red paladin, took a couple more of galra soldiers, launching them outside the lab and locked the door from the inside.

“I’m sorry I took so long,” The paladin gave a small smile, as he approached Lance,  “Don’t move! I’m gonna cut through the cuffs.” The blue paladin nodded.

“Thank you, Keith” A sword pierced his right arm, impaling him to the mattress where he was chained. Lance screamed, his lungs hurting, as he managed to hear his own voice again.

“Imagining the Red paladin, again?” The prince asked. Lance glanced at him, burning in fury and anger. There was no sword piercing his arm and all the druids and soldiers remained just like they were inside the room. “Are you that desperate to find him?” Lotor teased, “If you answer my questions, I could bring him to you!”

“Liar! Your promises mean nothing to me!”

“Ohh, but they should little paladin. Because this is your future now.”

Lance clenched his hand, a low growl leaving his throat through his close teeth.

“Your friends won't come for you, little paladin. They can’t risk what was so hard for them to conquer till now for a mere life.” He spoke slowly making sure his words sank into the paladin, “You are at my mercy, little one.”

“You’re wrong! My friends are not jerks like you! They’re coming to kick your ass! And I won't give you the satisfaction of fading unconscious and not see it happen!”

Lotor laughed almost sweetly, “It will be even better if they come!” he declared, “We will have Voltron in our grasp, and all of it will be thanks to you, blue paladin.”

The prince watched as Lance’s face twisted in terror, “Just imagine, I could torture them just like I’m doing to you! I’m sure father would want the Champion to return to the arena, but other two would definitely be delivered to me.”

“You sick fuck!”

“No need to be jealous, little paladin. I would let you watch every single bit of it. Every. Single. Bit. You would beg me to let you talk. Desperate to save your friends like the sacrificial hero you are! And I would refuse it to you, making sure you witnessed every scream and plead they uttered.”

“If you think my friends are that weak, you are truly an idiot, Loser!”

“Listen to me paladin,” he looked at Lance’s clear eyes, “Voltron has lost! Even if they come to save you, they would never be able to do it without thousands of lives being lost. Do you think you’re worthy of being rescued at the price of thousands of lives? Tell me? You can save them. You just have to answer my questions.”

“Shut up! I’m not falling for your tricks!” Lance barked, “I’m not telling you anything! No matter what you do, what you pull on me! I will never tell you anything! Ever!” Lance answered, his blue eyes lighting with all the strength he still had in him.

Lotor smiled, his white hair falling slightly over his face as he looked down at the paladin, amused.

“Good,” he taunted, lowering himself to reach closer to Lance’s ear, “I like it better this way. I will enjoy dragging the life out of you!”

“Bring it on!”

Lotor smirked, “Again!”

 

***

 

“We have finished the interrogation of the paladin, father.” The prince’s image appeared in a screen. The emperor spared him a look.

“And?” he uttered annoyed when no response came.

“So far we haven’t been able to learn anything,” he spoke lowering his head, “but we will not stop until we learn everything!” Lotor enthusiastically concluded.

 _Pathetic_.

“There is no need to continue with those futile interrogations. You will not learn anything.”

“Father, I know I can make him talk.”

“That’s enough! I’m ordering you to deliver him to the main ship immediately.”

“But father,”

“The blue paladin is a priority prisoner! Are you ignoring my orders!” A low growl left his throat.

“Of course not, father,” the prince bowed, “Vrepit Sa” Was the last thing he said before the screen faded to black.

The emperor sighed, reclining in the chair where he was sitting. His son was a fool to think he could break the blue paladin that easily. The paladins had changed, but their essence remained the same, and he knew them better than anyone else ever could. Maybe better than they themselves ever would.

The galra empire took centuries to be built and Voltron had become the biggest threat against his Utopia too easily. They had given the universe hope and with that the strength for many others to stand up and fight. More and more planets were being freed, the battleships destroyed to pieces, and with them, important resources were taken away from the empire. They were not losing the war, but they were not winning it either.

His obsession with retrieving what was rightfully his, blinded him for too long, allowing the paladins too much ground to move. But the tides changed. He had the wisdom of the centuries he had lived through. Seen and learned many things. He had time. All the time in the universe. And patience to wait for the right moment.

And he knew them. After all, he had been one of them. A fool. Just like them.

He grinned as he remembered how fate had smiled upon him 5 years ago.

During the fight with Voltron, he had planned his every move. He hid his true strength and allowed the paladins to become overconfident. Then he aimed for the head. Without their leader to follow the paladins would be lost, even if just for a split moment. That was more than he enough for him. He aimed for the blue right after.

The emperor knew the importance of the blue paladin had in keeping them team united. His death would be their demise. He never expected the red paladin to intervene. But thanks to it, something even more unbelievable had happened.

Zarkon remembered when his son contacted him, informing him they had found the red paladin, unconscious. Too good to be true. He was taken to his ship immediately and the emperor ordered them to heal the paladin. His followers were confused, too stupid to understand his plans, but they executed his wishes.

Without the red paladin, Voltron was no more. He wondered if they knew what had happened to him. He made sure no recorders of the paladin being taken as a prisoner existed.

Why? Because he knew them.

He knew the red lion and how its bond with the red paladin was one of the strongest. The lion was stubborn and temperamental, and would never pick another paladin if her chosen one was still out there. Even if the sake of the universe depended on it, red would gladly let the world burn for the sake of their loved ones. And, on the other hand, as long as the paladin was safe, the lion would not attack. Making it impossible for others to find him. Giving Zarkon the upper hand.

Keeping the red paladin safe and by his side was the best way to incapacitate the defender of the Universe. The thought of being able to turn him into one of them occurred to him when Haggar informed him of the paladin’s galra blood.

The poor boy had remained in a coma for 3 years, making things even easier. When he woke up everyone knew what to do.

And now Blue was coming to him. He wondered how long Voltron could remain united. The emperor knew well the will strength that rose from the blue flame in the most hopeless situations. He would never talk.

Keeping him like he had done with the red one was not the best option ever. The blue lion wasn’t like the red. Blue was calmer and more collected, ready to sacrifice for the greater good and for the sake of others. She would let someone else pilot her in order to defend the universe. Unlike red, keeping the paladin alive to prevent the lion from picking a new one wasn’t really something that worked. So, there was no point in letting the boy live. 

His death would show the Universe the empire’s strength. His death, as a prisoner of the empire, would destroy the hope of many that dared to rise against him. Maybe even bring the other paladins to him. To their ultimate demise. Fate had indeed smiled upon him.

 

***

 

“Again.” Lance heard the prince say in his head. He was conscious enough to know he was not in Lotor’s ship anymore. Yet, he could still hear the prince’s voice, forever repeating in his head. Never stopping to taunt him.

How long had it been since the day he was captured? Three? Five? Maybe seven days? He had no idea. After some torture sessions, he had completely lost count of the days. The illusions coming from the corrupted quintessence taunting him with his hopes and fears. Lance had forced himself to stay quiet, refusing to utter a sound. Which displeased Lotor tremendously. And that was a win. Lance learned to evade into his own mind, taking refuge from the pain and the taunts. Lotor grew bored of him, and Lance was transferred shortly after.

Probably to a worse place.

The paladin forced himself to look around, hoping to figure out where he was being taken. But his action here in vain, he didn’t even have enough strength to lift his head.

Lance tried to maintain his breath steady and he was dragged down the halls of the galra ship. The purple lighting too strong for his tired eyes, his throat too sore to complain about the pain that spread across his body.

He would not give up. He would not give in. His friends were depending on him. Lance knew he had to escape from the galra by himself. And he would.

But right now, he needed to rest. His eyes too exhausted to remain open. He closed them for a moment. Fading away from the horrible reality. Taking refuge in his mind, like he had tried when they had tortured him. Imaging his team safe, remembering the adventures they lived 5 years ago, when Keith was still around. Lance focussed into his presence, knowing that his time he wouldn’t turn into a monster to haunt his mind.

It felt so real, almost like Keith was right next to him, his quintessence always burning with raw emotion.

 

***

 

He hated it. More than anything else. He was not one of them. He would never be one of them. But every time, Keith heard the screams of a new prisoner he lost a bit of his strength to endure this hell.

He was responsible. He was at fault. He was helping them. It was his fault. He was a monster. He was a galra.

He clenched his hand as he crossed the corridor, blood dripping from his hand, watching as another prisoner was dragged to his doom. Keith looked away. Too ashamed to stare at the hopeless figure, lifeless. The two soldiers saluted him when they recognized who he was, and Keith fought the need to puke. He just wanted to run to his room, and escape from this horrible place where he was being forced to live. “Vrepit Sa!” he forced himself to say, a strange feeling suddenly filling him. Almost familiar.

“Keith?” a voice rang in his mind, too close and too real. _Keeiithhh!_ The scream filled his mind and his purple eyes widened in realisation.

_It. Was. Him._

“Keith!!” Clear blue eyes looked at him, voice cracking in his sore throat, but he ignored it, “Keith! I know it’s you!”

One of the guards punched Lance, making his head swing from the impact. His blue eyes rose with unbelievable strength lighting his whole face as he looked at the galra that was just staying still in the middle of the hall.

“We’ve been looking for you everywhere! Shiro was worried sick!” Lance ignored the pain in his body. He could feel it in his core. That was Keith. He had found him, after all this years, he had finally found him, “We searched everywhere but we could never find anything! Keith?” The figure remained still, and Lance feared Lotor taunts weren’t lies.

“KEITH?! What have they done to you!” He spit, ignoring his sore muscles as he fought against the guards, “Let go of me!”

One of the soldiers hit him again, dragging him down the hall.

“Stop! No! Let go of me!” Lance fought with all his strength, kicking them, “KEITH! Keith, Red is worried sick! She is waiting for you to return! We all a-” He felt the impact near his neck, before everything blacked out.

“I apologize, Sir!”

“I would reduce the amount of quintencesse dosage he is receiving! Before he completely loses his mind.” Keith warned.

“Of course.” They bowed before dragging the lifeless boy away.

Lance. They were dragging Lance away.

Keith fought the urge to run after them and punch them dead for what they had done to Lance.

But now he was sure of something he had been trying to learn for so long. Lance wouldn’t have said those things to him if they were mortal enemies. Keith was not and never had been part of the empire. Zarkon had lied to him, and he wanted nothing more than revenge. But he wasn’t able to move. He didn’t want Lance to see him like this.

What would he say? What would he think?

Keith was a monster and he couldn’t do anything to change that, but there was something more important now. Much more important than any pride he had left.

He had to take Lance out of here. Fast.

Keith closed the door behind his back, letting a small smile form in his face when he entered his room safely.

Lance was alive. He had survived whatever had made him scream like that. He was ok. He wanted to get him away from here as soon as he could, but it was dangerous. Zarkon had kept him here for a reason, going through the trouble of lying to him. But now that Keith had figured it out, the emperor wouldn’t win anything in keep lying to him. He needed to remain part of the empire if he wanted to have a chance to help Lance escape. Zarkon didn’t know he had figured it out. He could use that to his advantage as much as possible.

But for now, he needed information. Where was Lance cell, patrols timings and shifts, everything.

“I will get him out of here,” he looked at his reflection, “I can’t go back. But I have to get Lance out of here, no matter what.”

 

***

 

“You don’t know Keith at all! He doesn't do subduing or follows anyone. He is stubborn like no one else, but smart and he would have never betray us!” Lance heard his own voice declare.

“I will let you see with your own eyes, then!” The prince’s voice taunt him. Lance took a deep breath, twisting in pain. Lotor’s voice never leaving his mind, “He is practically one of us now.”

“No! Keith would never betray us! Maybe I was just confused. I was probably just hallucinating like before. Maybe it wasn’t him.”

_That was him._

“Why didn’t he do anything. He was just standing there,” Lance murmured, “Didn’t he recognise me? And why does he still have that stupid mullet?”

The paladin sighed, trying to evade from his thoughts. But Lotor’s voiced echoed once more in his mind, “Your friends won't come for you, little paladin. They can’t risk what was so hard for them to conquer till now for a meer life.”

Right now, Lance wish they wouldn’t. He didn’t want to be bait, leading his friends and team to their end. Shiro wasn’t stupid, he would never allow them to go into a suicide mission. At least he hoped so.

He needed to escape, and to figure out what had happened to Keith. Why was he here. Lotor’s words had to be lies. Keith was strong. He would never join the galra.

_It has been 5 years, that might have been a bit too much to take. Even for Keith._

“I have to get him out!”

 _He is not in danger._ Lance gulped as he remembered Red’s words of worry, _But he is in a dangerous place. Every moment he stays there, he loses himself more._

“I will get him out!”

The paladin jerked as he felt the cell door opening. He sighed, trying to imagine what the galra had planed for him now. A druid entered his cell and Lance jolted back, only to hit the wall with his back, sending a wave of pain across his whole body. The druid calmly approached him, ignoring Lance’s futile resistance against the restraints. Lance screamed when the yellow liquid filled his body, filling him and making his sensors way more perceptive. His mind was racing, and his breath speeded up as the pain in his body vanished.

A group of soldiers approached his cell, “Welcome to the arena!” one of them said as he leaned against the cells bars.

 _The arena?_ Shiro had never told him much about what had happened when he was a gladiator, but a missing arm and endless nightmares were enough for Lance to do the maths.

“That’s right! From this day onwards, you are a gladiator!”

Lance was cuffed and taken from his cell, as the galra soldier continued to speak to him, “The Champion was one of the best fighters that ever stood in the ring, paladin,” he uttered the word like it was an insult, “The emperor has a lot of hopes in you!”

“Fuck your emperor!”

The soldier smirked, amused with the paladin’s fighting spirit, “These are fights to the death,” he started removing the cuffs, “try not to die in the first one!”

Lance was thrown inside a dark room. He got up,  and tried to adjust his eyes to the darkness. A  ray of light appeared, as one of the walls started to rise, revealing Lance a sight he had hoped to never witness.

_The arena._

There were still metal bars separating him from the enormous ring, but at least now he could see what was happening. A galra soldier entered the ring, his voice louder enough for everyone to hear.

“I fight for the empire. I conquer in the name of galra. No foe has ever stood in my way. And none ever will.” He made a small pause, as the crowd joined him, “Vrepit Sa!” Lance gulped as he noticed that everyone in the arena was facing the same direction. He approached the bars, positioning himself to look in that direction, but his angle wouldn’t allow him to see anyone. He imagined they were worshipping Zarkon. And if Zarkon was here that had to mean,

_He was in the main ship._

Escaping from the main ship of the galra empire seemed almost like an impossible task. When they had tried to infiltrate it in order to save Allura years ago, things didn’t go too well. Attacking the main ship required resources and Voltron. The realisation made Lance realise he was on his own. But first things first. Before he could think of way to escape, he had to make sure he would survive.

The thought of having to fight for his life to entertain these monsters drove him crazy. Would they force him to kill innocent people? Or would he be forced to face the monsters Zarkon sent to defeat Voltron?

The sound of a horn rang, and Lance wondered what it meant, until he saw the cell bars from one of the prisons in front of his rise.

Soon enough all hell would come loose.

Lance observed as an alien hesitantly walked into the arena. The cell bars closing behind him. Lance took a deep breath, approaching the bars. Another horn rang and Lance watched as some other bars rose. A gigantic purple creature came out of there. Lance wondered if he was galra. He had mechanical weapons in almost every part of his body. The blue paladin looked at the alien and noticed he didn’t had any weapon. Another horn rang, paralyzing Lance when he saw the black wall shut him inside the container again.

Of course they wouldn’t let them watch the fight. That could be enough for them to learn or identify some weak spot on the creature. And the galra would never make it that easy. Lance sat against one of the walls, as timed passed. He heard the horns, the sounds of walls rising, of the bars opening and closing. He heard screams and the blood being spilled into the arena. He heard the cheers of the spectators, too delighted and amused with the pain and suffering of others.

A ray of light started to illuminate his cell and Lance knew his turn had come.

He was glad that they had captured him, and not Pidge or Hunk. The little girl didn’t need to see with her own eyes what the galra had made her family endure, for years. His best bud was way too soft, he would put up a fight, but for how long, exactly? And Shiro had experienced this enough times.

The bars started to rise, and Lance gulped, realising that this could be his last breath. The ring was filled with red puddles and the smell of iron filled the air.

He would fight. He would win for his sake and for his friends. He had to return and take Keith with him to a safe place. He could do it. He had to do it.

Lance walked inside the ring, with all the confidence he could master. He crowds cheer make him want to puke, but he ignored the feeling looking towards the direction he couldn’t quite see from his cell.

“Keith…” Lance mumbled. He would’ve recognized that mullet anywhere. Right next to him was prince Lotor, and Zarkon. The emperor sat in a armchair that reminded Lance of a throne, in between the other two. Lotor by his right, Keith on his left. Lance stared at the emperor, eyes lighting up with enough strength to conquer the world.

“Begin!” The emperor ordered ignoring the paladin’s gaze. Keith eyes widened as he looked at the emperor, but it was Lotor who spoke.

“Father, are you not letting the paladin have a weapon?”

“He _is_ a paladin.” The emperor declared, “That would make the fight too easy.”

 _Thank you, his assholeness!_ Lance thought before dodging an attack from the purple creature. _This is just great. I have to figure something out before i get crushed into pieces._ The blue paladin dodge yet another attack, barely making it this time.

 _That’s right. I just have to figure this thing’s weak spot. Just like in video games. I’ve played tons of video games, this will be a piece of cake! Just an one trial video game where you die if you fail the first time. Easy Peasy!_ Lance evaded another attack.

“Ok Lance, think!” The creature stopped for a moment and Lance glared at it. It had to be at least twice his side. With two robotic arms, and a robotic leg. One of his eyes seemed to have been replaced with tech too, and Lance wondered if it did something or if it was just to show off. Lance noticed how his right hand started to glow in purple, “Oh come on!” he protested dodging the laser, “Seriously? It fires lasers from his hands? And I don’t even get a knife!”

From an higher ground, on the royal balcony, Keith bit the inside of his own lips, not really bothering to stop when he felt the blood in his mouth.

Zarkon was trying to kill Lance. Having him fight in the arena without a weapon against that monster was some horrible way to go down.

In many fights, when the gladiators were scared, they were denied a weapon as a way to prevent them from committing suicide in the arena. But this was not the case. Zarkon was just toying him them.

_He was testing him._

A scream came from the arena, making Keith jerk in his seat. He wished that the scream had came from the galra soldier, but he knew it belonged to Lance.

_He had heard him scream in his nightmares countless likes, after all._

“Please, father,” Lotor started, “Reconsider giving him a weapon.”

Zarkon looked at his displease, before looking at Keith, “Do you also want the paladin to fight with a weapon too?”

It took everything in Keith not to immediately reply, YES. But somehow he was able to remain his collected self, even has Lance screams echoed through the arena. He was grabbing his left arm, probably broken. “The fight is being extremely boring!” he uttered without taking his eyes from the arena.

“Very well,” The emperor rose his right arm ordering one of the soldiers to give the paladin a weapon. The soldier went for a sword, but Lotor intervened.

“Give him a bow with one arrow!”

 _I’m gonna kill him,_ Keith thought. Lotor knew Lance had broke his arm, the bow would be completely useless.

The soldier obeyed, delivering the message and soon a bow and an arrow were thrown to the arena. Lance didn’t seem to be complaining as he took the weapon in his hand. He looked surprisingly pleased and Keith wondered if he had something in mind. Lance was good with long distance guns, so he probably knew how to use a bow. But with only one arrow and his arm like that what chances did he had.

Keith gulped. Not daring to think about it. Lance was still dodging the attacks, rolling to the right and then the left. Managing pretty well, without letting go of the bow. The galra soldier stopped, charging his laser weapon and Lance finally did his move.

He broke the bow in half and rushed towards the monster, a battle cry leaving his throat. The galra attacked with his other hand, sensing the danger, but Lance avoided the attack, climbing on top of his arm, and when he reached close enough to the monster’s face, he jumped piercing the creature’s eyes with the two halves of the bow, efficiently blinding him.

Keith could feel how much pain moving his injured arm had caused him, but Lance didn’t even quiver. He hated seeing Lance being forced to fight for his own life like that. And he hated to be a part of it. A part of the empire that was doing that to the blue paladin.

To Lance.

The blue eyed paladin grabbed the arrow and ripped the creatures palate as it screamed in agony from his wounds.

The galra directed his right hand towards Lance, grief blinding him, aiming the laser to where Lance was. The paladin waited for the right moment, dodging efficiently and making the monster hit himself.

“He is really nice looking, don’t you think brother?” Lotor whispered in Keith’s ear, “Maybe I’ll summon him to my quarters later.” he teased, licking his lips illustratively. Keith felt a low growl form in his throat, but he swallowed it, along with his pride. They were testing him and right now, joining Lance in the arena would only be the death of both of them. He had to remain as part of the empire, so he could find a way to help Lance escape.

The crowd went wild. And for once in his life, Lance hated having people cheering for him. He looked towards the balcony. Zarkon remained with his plain face. Lotor, on the other hand, had risen from his seat and seemed very amused, clapping and cheering for the paladin’s victory.

Lance looked at Keith. He was standing too, on the opposite side of the balcony. He wasn’t clapping or cheering. He was just standing there as a galra mantle covered him. Lance could hardly see him, his face hidden by a purple hood, but his almost purple eyes shined brighter in the darkness. The blue paladin looked at them, feeling himself being pulled towards the calm yet fierce purple.

 _What have they done to you?_ his lips moved, the sound barely louder than a whisper. As if he had heard him, Keith looked away, making Lance regret his words, wishing that he would have stayed in silence. As if that would have allowed him to glance at Keith’s eyes from another second.

The cheers from the crowd died out gradually as Lance stared at the emperor, daring blue eyes, burning with will power. The galra seemed amused. Lance jerked at the unexpected sound of the horn, horror spread across his face when the black wall rose, revealing another creature behind bars. Eager for blood.

_His blood._

Lance grabbed his arm. The pain was starting to become more and more evident as the adrenaline rush faded into his blood.

It wasn’t over yet. _It had only just begun._

They would make him fight. Again and again.

Lance remained in the middle of the arena as he watched the monster he had _killed_ being taken away from the ring. His mind wondered if he was doing the right thing. If fighting really was his only way to survive. He didn’t even notice when the druid approached him, injecting him with the yellow liquid.

Lance fought his instinct to scream. He would not give them that satisfaction again. He refused to. The quintessence spread through his body like a drug, making his heartbeat speed up and his head race. His pain gradually vanishing.

The horn echoed across the arena, the crowd cheered, and his new adversary sprinted to him with a battlecry.

Lance felt like new. The liquid had restored his strength somehow, and he fought.

The paladin looked for a weak spot, dodged and attacked. Repeating the process endlessly. Again and again.

Keith observed his every move. Silently praying Zarkon would end that madness.

But the emperor was enjoying himself. Every time the blue paladin defeated someone in the ring, he ordered for another monster to come. Keith watched as the druids injected Lance with quintencesse in between everything fight.

The substance wasn’t healing him, only removing the pain he felt, like some sort of painkiller. Fatigue only accumulated after every fight, and every time the painkiller’s effect faded, Lance’s exhaustion increased.

His bones were broken. Not his spirit.

His body was succumbing. But his mind remained,

_Unbroken._

Lance was strong. But this was too much.

Keith looked at the blue paladin in terror when the horn rang again announcing the beginning of another fight. His claws digged into the edge of the balcony.

He had to do something. Zarkon was testing him. His loyalty to the empire. His memories. But how far would he go. Would he really kill Lance.

Wasn’t the blue paladin a lot more valuable alive?

Keith head rose to look back at the arena when a cry of agony filled his galra ears, making them quiver. Lance was on the arena’s floor, forcing his limbs to move as he tried to get up. But patience wasn’t one of the creatures virtues. It grabbed Lance by a leg, swinging him around like a mop.

Keith watched.

Powerless.

The monster stopped, and sent Lance flying to the other side of the ring.

Lance didn’t even had the strength to get up.

“Give up, Paladin!” Keith jerked when he heard Zarkon’s voice right behind him, “You can not win! Give up and I will let you live!”

Lance looked at him from the ring, his signature grin in his face as he said, “Fuck you!” The reply was so Lance it made Keith’s chest hurt.

“Kill him!” Zarkon ordered.

Two purple eyes widened.

They were going to kill Lance.

Keith felt the hopelessness overtaking him. He remembered the screams of the countless lives he had allowed the galra to take. Right in front of his eyes. His whole self coming to pieces as he realised.

What was the point in remaining in the empire, if the person he wanted to save was dead?

_None._

His hand reached for his sword as he jumped off the balcony.

_Lance was the only hope he saw in the last years._

And he would not let the galra take that away from him.

_If it was a choice between dying in the arena alongside the paladin or living with the guilt of letting him be killed,_

 

 

 

_Keith would pick dead any day._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning about next week's chapter, since I'm going to an anime convention during the weekend, I will probably only be able to update chapter 6, Monday. I already have part of it written so I should be able to recover. Sorry once more for the delay! And thank you for reading. <3
> 
> Update: The incredible art was made by [Icey](http://staring-into-demon-eyes.tumblr.com). Go ahead and check out her art tag #iceydraws!


	6. I'll Kill You Myself

“Put him in the dungeon!” the galra emperor ordered coldly to the two soldiers grasping Keith. The black haired male didn’t say anything, too tired and beat up after putting up a fight. But even tho breathing was proving to be a task hard enough, he still managed to growl at the emperor.

Red blood flowed down his body, coming not only from him but also from the creature he had killed minutes ago.

“Should we put him with the other one, Sire?” one of the soldiers asked. Keith's heart skipped a beat.  _ Lance! _ his mind immediately recalling the unpleasant sight the blue paladin had become. He should have jumped sooner to the arena. If he had, maybe Lance wouldn’t be on verge of death.

 

Keith wasn’t thinking. He never expected to win the fight, welcoming death as he jumped off the balcony. He recalled how Lance’s eyes had widened when he jumped, completely stunned, yet relieved and hopeful. Keith easily took down the creature Lance was facing. His blade was the real deal, not some rusty old weapon, so it wasn’t that hard. Keith got prepared to face the storm of questions Lance would have. Ready to even face rejection or fear towards what he had become, but none of that ever came. Lance was simply lying on the floor, lifeless. 

Keith's heart skipped a beat, fearing he was just a moment too late. He reached for the blue paladin and easily confirmed he was still breathing. Still alive.

Lance had pushed himself too hard and too far, instinct and determination had kept him going, and as soon as he felt it was over, fatigue overtook him.

Keith held him closer, right arm around Lance’s back and his sword protectively aimed forward, prepared to go down with a fight.

“What is the meaning of this?” Zarkon asked him. Keith felt the shiver ran down his spine. 

Holding Lance closer to his chest he continued, “I’m done with this farce! I won't let you hurt him anymore!”

Zarkon let out a small chuckle before ordering, “Capture them both.”

Keith fought with all his might, taking down a few soldiers, but before he knew it, they had surrounded him, taking Lance away and leaving Keith in the sorry state he currently was.

 

“Yes. Put him with the paladin.” Zarkon told them with a straight face, but Keith could feel the sly smirk teasing him. Warning him, that everything had just begun.

Keith wanted to kill him. Keith was going to kill him. The purple asshole had been making a fool out of him for the past years, and apparently wasn’t satisfied just yet. But something far more important than his  _ revenge _ surfaced in him.

_ Lance _ . 

He had to get him out of here. He needed to keep him safe. Keith knew what the galra were capable of. He had spent way too much time with them. Working for them. And, just the thought of Lance being forced to endure all of that, set him on fire.

The soldiers carried him through the dark familiar hallways. Keith tried to memorize the path but he was too weak and exhausted plus, the way he was being dragged down the cold halls wasn’t helping.

After some long minutes, they stopped, and Keith was almost relieved for that. His body ached badly. He felt one of the soldiers grasp him tighter as the other removed the chains from his wrists. Then, they forced Keith into the cell, who fell to the harsh floor unable to balance himself. He wanted to run towards the bars and demand them to release him. But, he knew it would be in vain. So, instead, he decided to sit on the floor, his head leaning against the stone walls, his eyes closed, panting heavily. 

A familiar presence forced his exquisite purple eyes open. His head turned around, only stopping when he spotted the blue paladin laying lifeless on the floor.

“Lance,” Keith used the strength he had left to rise up and move towards the blue paladin, sitting beside the motionless figure. He could see Lance’s frail breaths but part of him feared he was simply imagining it. Keith called his name again, and when no response came, he carefully cradled him just to make sure he was breathing. 

Obviously. 

Keith's face was filled with relief when the felt the faint thuds and a thin smile formed on his lips. Having Lance so close made his heart race faster and even tho he would never admit it he enjoyed as Lance quintessence reached him. He allowed himself submerge in the tenderness and serenity from it. He had missed it.

Keith could feel Lance’s distress and he hurried to tend his wounds, doing what he could to clean them and bandaging the worse ones with some of the fabric from his purple vest. A sigh of relief escaped from him when he saw Lance relax in his arms.

The black haired male couldn’t help himself but to stare at the paladin. Lance had changed so much, but somehow he was the exact same he remembered. Keith fought the tears that desperately threatened to falls from his eyes as he caressed Lance's cheeks. His tanned skin was harsher than it looked, and yet it felt welcoming under Keith’s touch. Lance had his beard awfully shaved but anywise it still looked good on him. The blue paladin’s hair was incredibly soft, longer than it used to be, and Keith noticed Lance used an undercut nowadays. His eyes fell to the scar he had on the side of his chin. It wasn’t a recent scar, looked quite old, actually, and Keith found himself wondering what had happened. His index finger trailed the slightly different skin from Lance’s chin to his lips, where the scar ended. The black haired male stood frozen for a moment without removing his finger from the paladin’s lips, simply feeling Lance’s warm breath thud his finger, again and again.

“I’m sorry,” his voice came out pathetically weak, “I should have jumped into the arena the moment you were taken there!” He hesitated, “I was a coward! I was- Afraid to step up, and now, because of me you’re barely breathing.” his tears won the battle, finally sliding down his cheeks. Keith didn’t even bother to wipe them away, “I’m really sorry! I never wanted any of this to happen to you,  _ Lance _ .”

Almost as if answering Keith, Lance eyes shoot open gifting him with the ocean blue shade Keith adored so much. It wasn’t hard to realise Lance’s vision was blurred thanks to the way his iris moved. 

Keith was glad to see Lance awake but at the same time, something twisted in his stomach. Lance, right now, had all the reasons in the world to hate him, and the fact that Keith looked like a monster would definitely not help. He cursed himself for holding Lance so close as he slowly tried to lay him back on the floor. Lance protested with a strange noise, gripping Keith’s vest with his hand before diving into his neck, where he decided to lay, delighted. The black haired male felt the blood rush to his face as his heart eagerly pounded in his chest.

“Keith,” Lance murmured, his warm breath sending chills down Keith’s spine. He forced himself to maintain his composure while he looked at the blue paladin, expecting the worst. Instead, Lance only glanced at him tenderly, “Keith,” he called again staring right into Keith’s eyes before a smile formed on his face.

Lance knew he was dreaming. But right now, he couldn’t care less. The galra had made him face those pleasant illusions that would turn into nightmares in the blink of an eye before. In all of them, he tried to resist and hold out with all his strength, but he was tired of fighting his mind. It was so much easier to just savor the moment and sink into Keith’s presence before it all twisted into a nightmare worse than the others.

He forced his arm to rise up, against the heaviness of his body trying to reach Keith’s adorable face but he only managed to reach his neck, his fingers immediately finding their way into Keith’s black hair. Lance watched the other’s expression turn from surprise to tenderness.

“Keith,” his heart ached, “I missed you! Don’t leave me, again!” he almost demanded. Keith was shocked and if it wasn’t for his heart going ballistic, he would have thought he was frozen. He observed as Lance expression twisted at his reaction. The paladin blinked rapidly as realisation stroke him.

_ That was not an illusion. _

Lance crawled away from Keith only stopping when his back hit the opposite wall, filling him with immense pain from the impact thanks to his sore muscles and wounds. He could barely see anything in the darkness of that place, yet somehow Keith’s hurt expression facing away from his gaze was so vivid in his mind, he wondered if he’d actually saw it.

Keith glanced at the paladin from the distance. He couldn’t really blame him. He had abandoned them for 5 years, and any excuse he could come up with wouldn’t change the fact that he never returned. With the amount of time that had passed, Keith knew that the need to form Voltron had hunted them many times. He wouldn’t even ask for a place on the team if someone else had already replaced him. Not to mention his appearance. What he had become. After everything the galra had done to Lance, he couldn’t really censure him for jolting away as fast as he could.

_ It’s better off this way,  _ he told himself. He couldn’t return. Not after everything he had done. He had helped the galra and broken the paladin code with every breath he took. He wasn’t a paladin anymore and he could never be a paladin again. But Lance was, and he would get him away from this place and back to the castle at all costs. 

Lance couldn’t see him, but he could feel him burn painfully. He knew Keith was hurting, and he knew it was his fault. He needed to fix that. The blue paladin carefully tried to approach Keith, making sure the other male wouldn’t try to run away.

“Stay back!” Keith words came to him coldly and almost sounded like he didn’t care. Yet, Lance could sense the way his quintessence burned, always so raw and full of emotion. Lance had missed it.

“I’m sorry, Keith! I didn’t mean to-”

“I said stay back!” Keith reappeared it. His voice was almost demanding this time and Lance assumed he was trying to hide something.

But he wasn’t giving up. Oh god no he wasn’t! Not after 5 full years looking for that asshole he wouldn’t just give up when he was this close.

“We looked for you everywhere, but we could never find you,” he said with only silence as a reply, “Shiro was so worried. We feared he would lose it but he managed with the time. We never stopped looking-”

“Don’t come any closer,” Keith growled.

Lance stopped, “I was worried!” he admitted genuinely and he could almost sense Keith surprise, “But now you’re here and we can go back to the way it was.”

“You don’t understand!” Keith almost interrupted Lance, “How could you understand?

“What? What is it?” Lance insisted, “If you don't tell me then I won't know!”

“I’m not going back!” 

Lance barely managed to contain himself. Why was Keith being like this? Didn’t he know how much they had missed him? How much they needed him. How much Red refused to pick another paladin. He stopped his eyes from tearing. Lance had been able to find Keith, but he was still unable to make him want to come back. He couldn’t even do such a simple thing. He was such a pathetic excuse for a paladin. The worst.

“I can’t go back!” Keith said. His voice, unlike before, was anguished. “I can’t! Not after everything I’ve done! I’m not even human anymore.”

Lance’s blue eyes widened and he rushed to Keith ignoring the screams of pain from his body.

“Keith!” Lance palms were on Keith’s cheeks, forcing him to look into his eyes, “What are you saying?”

But it didn’t take long for him to finally realise what Keith meant. His skin didn’t feel like human skin anymore, but more like fur. It was dark, and Lance’s eyes had taken their time to adjust to the lack of light. He felt stupid for not noticing it sooner. He had been to absorbed into those eyes, too lost in how soft the dark hair was.

But he could see it now. The velveted light purple of the skin, the ears popping from his head, the fangs, the claws. Keith looked just like any other galra Lance had seen.

The paladin waited for an answer but none came and Keith merely stared at him with eyes wide open, “Did they do this to you?” he asked, slowly nuzzling the purple fur. Keith looked away.

“Aren’t you afraid?” he managed to ask after some long minutes of silence. Lance’s eyes shoot up to meet Keith’s, astonishment overflowing in them.

Keith looked just like any other galra Lance had seen, but Keith wasn’t like any other galra Lance had seen.

He laughed, “Wait? Why should I be afraid of you?” Keith grunted, but before he could say anything, Lance continued, “Look! I don’t really understand what this whole ‘I look galra so I can't go back’ thing is about. I feel almost offended! We’re not that superficial, you know? So cut the crap and help me think of a way to get out of here!”

“I’ll help you escape, but I’m not going back!” Keith stated. Lance almost gasped. That stupid annoying stubborn creature. He hadn’t changed a bit, “It’s better off this way.”

“It’s better off this way.” Lance repeated it, putting his astounding mimicking skills to use, “What makes you think you can decide that!” he scolded, “We’ve been looking for you everywhere! Red never gave up on you for a second for the last 5 years! But you’re just being selfish and thinking of yourself like usual.”

Keith growled, “Shut up!” his fangs suddenly visibly appearing. His eyes had lightened up with fury, making the paladin feel a chill trail down his spine. Maybe Keith wasn’t as ‘Keith’ as he expected. 

The thought sank into his mind too easily, backed up by Lotor’s teasing words. Keith wasn’t the Keith he had known anymore. They were too late. He was too late. He had failed him. 

Ocean blue stared at the galra, sorrowfully remorse. He was so sorry. 

“Keith, I’-”

“I’m not going back! I can’t go back! Not after everything I’ve done!” their eyes meet for a slight moment, before Keith looking away, “I’ve killed countless lives. I’ve killed people I was supposed to safe. I don’t have right to call myself a paladin.”

“I’ve killed people too, K-”

“You don’t understand! How could you understand,” his voice didn’t sound like his own anymore, “I saw them conquering planets across the galaxy, taking prisoners, killing anyone that tried to resist. I was there. I helped. I was a part of it. I-I betrayed my paladin code and everyone that ever believed in me.”

“Keith,”

“I’ve betrayed everyone in the team, including you. So stop looking at me like that! I’m just like them.”

“That’s what he wants you to think!” Lance offered, he wasn’t giving up just yet. Keith was somewhere in there. He knew he could bring him back. He had to, “You’re a prisoner just like me. Even if you weren’t in a dungeon all the time or no time at all, I’m sure they were always all over you, watching what you were doing. You didn’t have any freedom. You were just trying to survive. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to survive.”

“I killed people!”

“I’ve killed people too!” Lance cried out. Keith was looking at him, stunned, “You saw me in the arena!”

“You were just trying to survive. You didn't have a choice.”

“I could have refused to fight! But I would be dead! You could have refused to fight too, but I’m sure they would have killed you! It’s the same thing!”

“I killed innocent people. They did nothing wrong.” Keith could still hear their pleas in his head.

“I’ve killed innocent people too. So many times. Sometimes we didn’t get there in time other times we found them alive, but already too broken to live. You have no idea the amount of lives we failed to save.”

Keith’s mouth opened, an argument already forming in the back of his throat, but Lance continued, “Every single time that happened, I feared something similar could have happened to you. Nothing could be worse than finding you just to learn you were gone forever,” The words weren’t much louder than a whisper, but somehow, Keith managed to hear every single one of them, “I’m so sorry! I’m sorry we took so long! We should have looked for more rigorous information. In more places. If we’d found where you were sooner, you wouldn’t have to endure all that for 5 years.” Tears were streaming down his eyes, “I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault.”

The black haired male remained in silence, wondering if his ears had deceived him or not. Lance’s cries were the only thing that was heard for too long. Keith longed for those tears to stop. He wanted to comfort, yet he froze still. 

“Actually, it was only for 2 years.” he offered. Lance glanced at him puzzled, “I was in a coma for 3 years, so…”

Keith realised that his sad attempt to amend the situation had backfired when Lance face twisted with guilt.

“I’m sorry…” Lance mumbled.

“It wasn’t your fault. I kinda remember jumping there myself.”

“You saved me!” Lance offered, “And it got you into this mess”

“Really? I’m pretty sure I just wanted to kick ass!”

Lance didn’t even care if Keith was trying to play around or not, “You screamed so painfully!” Keith’s face was filled with realisation as a small ‘ohh’ left his mouth.

“My memory is still all over the place,” he offered. Lance looked at him miserably. He hadn’t just delivered Keith to the enemy and forcing him to endure years of mental torture. He had stolen full 3 years from Keith.

“Lance?” The paladin jolted at the sound of his name and before he could say anything, he felt two arms embrace him steadily, “I’m sorry. It’s ok! I’m ok!” The words came out of his mouth in an endless loop, almost like a prayer. For some reason, Lance couldn’t quite tell him to stop, afraid those warm arms would leave him again, “I’m glad you’re here.” Keith murmured. Lance remained quiet, enjoying the warmth and ease that was brought to him.

“Did they do this to you?” the blue paladin asked once more.

“I don’t know,” Keith responded, “I woke up like this!”

“I’m-”

“You don’t have to apologize. It’s not your fault.” 

Keith hadn’t ceased to hold the blue paladin, cradling him closer. Lance didn’t protest. Why would he, really? He simply remained there, enjoying the feeling. His blue eyes stared back at two ears on top of Keith's head. Before the other male could react, Lance’s hand had found his way to the fluffy ear, petting it tenderly. Keith protested at first, lightly flushed, but eventually melted towards the touch, following Lance’s hand when it moved. The blue paladin could have sworn he had heard Keith purr. The paladin couldn’t stop the soft smile from forming on his lips.

“Lance?”

“Yeah?”

He hesitated, too afraid of what he could get as an answer, “I- hum… Is everyone still alive?” Lance gazed at him troubled.

“Yeah! Shiro, Pidge, Hunk, Allura and Coran too. Everyone is just fine. They kept you pretty clueless.”

“I guess… When I woke up they told me I was part of the empire. Zarkon wanted me to believe that everything had just been a dream. For some months I didn’t really know what to think. I couldn't remember much of the fight. I was afraid that it was a dream, that I was an enemy of Voltron. Afraid to learn I was never a paladin. That nothing had happened. I had to play along until I had a chance to learn the truth. So I couldn’t ask much questions without having much suspicion on me. I shouldn’t have doubted myself.”

“I’m so sorry you had to go through all that!” Lance told him, forcing Keith to stop. He got the point. He wanted to know what had happened, but right now he couldn’t bear to hear Keith's voice sound so weak and sad for another second, “We’ll make it out alive!” Lance told him, “I promise.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“Is that a challenge?” Keith let out a small laugh. Some things never changed.

“You should probably rest. I doubt you had any decent night of sleep for the past weeks.”

“Years.” Keith frowned at him, clueless, “Yeah, I am pretty tired.”

“You can sleep. I’ll keep you safe.” Lance smiled, but didn’t say anything, simply finding the most comfortable position in Keith’s arms, resting his head on Keith’s chest and shoulder.

“If you don’t remember any of this when you wake up,” Keith started, “I’ll kill you myself.”

“Oh! Shut up, Mullet!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The convection was super cool but it left me dead tired which resulted in another late update. Sorry ^^''  
> Anyway, hope you guys like it. Some fluff was needed, so why not make a full chapter of it.  
> Thank you for reading.


	7. Red Blood, Blue Tears

Lance woke with a frail thud in his ear. Blue eyes lazily cleared, blessing him with a  surreal sight.

Keith’s eyes were closed and his lips slightly parted as the other male dozed. The blue paladin couldn’t refrain himself from gazing at the sleeping figure. He looked like a completely different person. The galra ears sticking out from his ebony hair, fangs sharper than his claws, and the velvet purple skin that left Lance wondering if it was as soft as it seemed. Keith looked galra. No.

Keith  _was_ galra.

He had the same intimidating looks, the same bad blood, and the same murderous intent.

But Keith was also human. His now closed eyes were still as tender as they used to be. Lance could only imagine what the galra had forced those two purple orbs to witness. How much pain and regret they made Keith endure. Lying to him. Deceiving him. Making him doubt himself. But the galra weren’t the only ones that left him in grieve.

 _I was in a coma for 3 years,_ Keith’s words emerged in his mind.

Lance frowned. He was responsible for making Keith lose three years of his life. He closed his right hand into a fist, whispering silent promises as he vowed to atone his wrongs. He couldn’t bring those years back, but he could change the ones that were to come. He would do anything in his power to take Keith far away, rescue him from the galra's grasp and shield him from the pain, even if that meant taking his place.

 _You’re not alone anymore,_ Lance smiled when Keith’s fringe danced with his breath, _We’re getting out of here, somehow. We can do it. Together._

The humble braid trailing down his shoulder rose with every breath Keith took. Lance stopped staring at the figure beside him, tailoring into the warmness of Keith’s chest. Enjoying the silent, repeating thud, beating a pleasant pattern of life.

Tenderness filled Lance’s expression as he recalled,

Keith was alive. He was ok. He was here.

Nothing could change that. He was given a chance to redeem and return Keith’s old life back to him.

“Are you finally done staring?” Lance felt Keith’s voice in his ear. Blood rushed to his face, leaving it burning, and before he could utter a clumsy reply, Keith proceeded in a low voice, “I know I’m a monster,” the purple hand reached for the hood, tucking it down as he tried to hide his whole self in it.

“Keith,” blue eyes gazed at him. Keith never felt so exposed, naked of any argument to fend himself. He was at fault. “Keith,” Lance tried again. But no words came to him. He couldn't find a way to phrase what he was feeling, and with every breathing of hesitation, Keith only grew more certain of what he had become.

“Keith,” Lance seized the brunette's face in his hands, blue flaming, purple evading, “Even if you feel like a monster, that doesn’t mean you are one. You’re not a monster to me.” Lance sensed the other figure trying to conceal himself, but he could still feel his presence. His unchanged quintessence. The neverending flame of Red. “Never once I thought of you like that. You’re a paladin of Voltron. The Red paladin,” Lance futilely tried to hide a smile, “Even if you don’t believe in yourself, I do. You’re still you, I know.”

“Stop,” Keith uttered, “You don’t understand. I have no right to be called a paladin. Not after everything I’ve done. I’ve-”

Lance beheld the other male merge into silence, his galra ears flinched and his eyes gazed towards the cell’s door.

“Keith,”

“Get back.” His arm, instinctively circled Lance, holding him closer, “Something’s coming.”

Lance didn’t struggle, he simply remained quiet as he tried to detect what Keith had heard. The blue paladin easily realised those giant ears weren’t just for show because it took him a lot more than a couple of seconds until he heard the steps echoing through the cold walls.

They had come back for him. To taunt him endlessly.

With each step he heard, Keith's ears flinched and he cradled him closer. Carefully, like Lance could and would break if he wasn’t gentle enough.

The blue paladin was terrified, but he would never admit it. Doing so would only worry Keith more and the purple eyed male was already facing too much. Acknowledging that those two protective arms filled him with strength, was something for later.

A figure leaned into the cell's bars, and it took everything in Lance not to shiver when he heard that voice, “If it isn’t my cute little brother,” Lance didn't need to look to know Lotor was smirking madly, “and my favourite paladin, too.”

“What do you want,” Keith growled, more as a warning for the galra prince to stay away, than as a question.

He dramatically rose his hands in defence, “I feel almost offended by your belief that my visit has an underlying motive,” a sly smirk formed on his face, “But it actually has,” he laughed like he had just heard the best joke in the universe, then, gave a threatening stare towards the other male, “I have an important appointment with your dear paladin!”

Lance froze and Keith only gnarled louder, “Don’t you dare touch him,” he warned and Lotor made a long face, like a sibling that tried to convince his brother to let him play with his toy.

“Oh come on, brother. Don’t be selfish. Share him with me!”

Keith’s purple eyes only lighted fiercely, sharp fangs showing up, threatening. But Lotor ignored them, smiling like Keith was nothing more than a small kitten, “Paladin?” his voice almost singing, “Will you come with me willingly, or do I need to offer you some suitable _encouragement_?”

The blue paladin took a deep breath, collecting the remains of the strength he had. He couldn’t let the galra win. Not after everything they had done. He needed to remain calm and collected. Resist. They could break his body but never his spirit.

“Bring it on, Loser!” he managed, immediately expecting the “again” from the prince followed by the endless pain. But that did not happen.

Lotor only giggled, unable to hide his excitement, “Good. It wouldn’t be as amusing otherwise.”

The galra prince took a couple of steps back, as the cell door opened. Three other galra soldiers appeared, invading the room harshly.

 _They were going to take Lance._ Lance, who was hurting, replete of scars. Lance who was struggling to remain unbroken. Worried purple eyes peeked at the paladin, wondering how much longer he could endure it.

Keith knew too well how heartless Lotor could be. The prince had made sure Keith witnessed with his own eyes. how cruel and ruthless the galra empire was towards their enemies. He couldn’t let it happen to Lance again. He had endured enough.

The black hair male shielded the paladin, positioning himself in between him and the galra. He was unarmed but that didn't weaken his will to fight. His need to finally stand up and safeguard his beliefs.

He hated it. But he _was_ galra. He had sharp claws and keen fangs. And he wasn’t afraid to use them.

His eyes stormed around, analysing the battlefield. He could beat those galra soldiers even without any weapon, but without dethroning Lotor, nothing would change.

“Keith,” Lance sounded troubled. He wondered if the paladin would hate him for what he was about to do.

He waiting for the right moment to strike, knowing he would only have one chance, “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, “It will be alright.”

“Last chance to spare yourself from a lot of pain,” one of the soldiers declared. With every step forward he took, Keith only growled louder, “Come with us paladin, and no one will be hurt!”

Keith’s ears flinched. He ducked rapidly and used his right leg to throw one of the guards of balance. The other two, caught by surprise, did not put much resistance before Keith had punched one, leaving him bleeding from his mouth, and dodge the futile attack from the other one.

The black haired male had always been good at close combat. He could easily read and predict his opponent’s next move only by examining their body language.

He didn’t hesitate for a second, launching himself towards Lotor, sharp fangs ready to rip the soft flesh of his neck, killing him instantly.

“Keith!” the paladin cried out, begging him to stop.

And Keith did. 

Lotor looked at him, suddenly amused, “Did you just tried to kill me, brother?”

 _No_ , purple eyes widened, alien to the place. He was losing himself. Attacking to kill. Just like a galra.

Keith curled around his stomach when he felt the strong impact from Lotor’s kick strike him awake.

“You,” one of the soldiers protested, spitting blood to the floor as he approached Keith, “You’re gonna pay for that!”

One thing had worked. The galra’s attention had been averted from Lance to him. And that was a win. A small one, but a win.

As if reading their comrade’s mind, the two other galra grabbed Keith, straightening him. The soldier started by punching Keith in the face, reciprocating the favor. He continued, beating the defenseless figure, tugging blood from everywhere in his body. Keith didn’t even whimper, fierce purple eyes burning brighter with every strike.

“You might look galra, but you’re nothing like us. It’s even pathetic to see how weak this body is.”

“I’ve always heard the good guys don’t kill! Aren’t you supposed to be a paladin of good?”

Lance watched in horror as Keith lost what remained of his humanity. Animal instincts rising, fangs sharpening, murderous intent growing. The blue paladin glanced at Lotor. The galra prince looked excited with the show, not even fazed with how close to death he had been, moments ago.

 _He is practically one of us now,_ Lotor’s words rang in his mind.

Keith was losing himself. Every moment he hesitated, Keith became more and more galra.

Losing sight of himself.

“I’m not a paladin!” Keith barked, “But I’m still galra enough to kill you!”

Lance watched the other galra retreat for a moment, taken by Keith intense aura. Blazing intimidating eyes of someone that has nothing to lose.

The blue paladin clenched his hand, as he declared, “Stop it! I’m going!” he somehow walked towards the exit. Lotor didn't even bother to hide his victorious grin.

“Let him go!” the prince ordered, “We have a more important business to attend to.”

Keith fell to the floor, panting hard without any strength to stand on his own two feet.

“Hands!” Lotor cheerfully reminded the paladin. Lance sighed, raising both hands and letting one of the soldiers cuff him with those alien purple bindings. He eyed Keith again, meeting the purple eyes unexpectedly. Tenderness had returned to them. He looked so lost and confused, and Lance wondered how much he remembered.

“Lance,” Keith reach for him, begging him to stay. He looked away, turning back to Lotor. The door closed behind him as he walked away.

 

***

 

 _They will try to protect each other,_ his father’s words echoed in his mind, _That is their weakness but also their strength._

Lotor failed to understand the significance of the bond between paladins, but his father had savored it himself, knowing the extents of it.

 _We do not need the blue paladin alive!_ Lotor was taken aback, reminding his emperor of the importance of a hostage.

His father only laughed at him, _I didn’t expect you to understand,_ he admitted, _But believe me when I say that the death of the blue paladin will play to our favour. It will break the will of many across the galaxy and destroy Voltron._

The galra prince looked at his father, not daring to doubt a word, but he still wondered, how that would prevent the appearance of a new blue paladin.

 _It won't,_ Zarkon enlightened him, _But it won’t erase the existence of the previous paladin either. The bond between paladins is a strong connection, that will not disappear in years, maybe decades. The paladins will still feel connected to their long dead paladin. An endless reminder of how they failed him. The new paladin will never be enough to fill the emptiness that follows._ The emperor knew it better than anyone, he had lost them too and felt it himself, after all.

 _And besides, killing the blue paladin might be just enough to break the eternal red flame._ The emperor smirked, analyzing the best way to kill two birds with one stone. He serenely told his plans to the prince, making sure he understood what his orders were.

 

_Use the blue paladin’s death to break Keith. Simple._

 

Lance looked at the galra prince, not daring to say a word. He wondered what could be in his mind. And whatever it was that could keep Lotor quiet for more than a minute, couldn't be good.

They stopped in from of a fortified metal door. Lotor’s reached for the glowing panel, opening the door. Lance gulped at the sight of the lab in front of him.

 _It’s better than seeing Keith like that,_  he told himself following the galra prince inside.

“You all are dismissed!” Lotor declared, shooing the soldiers away. They hesitated, but when they saw Lotor’s annoyed gaze, the galra opted to leave without questions. The prince waited for them to go before comfortable sitting on a chair that could give Lance nightmares just from glancing at it.

“No need to be that defensive,” he giggled, “I don’t bite!”

Lance sighed in defeat, “Just get it over with,” he requested prudently.

The prince looked at him amused, “It pleases me to see how eager you are, but I’m not a monster you know! I have some morals too,” he joked, “You can barely stand up,” the prince rose from the chair, walking to the paladin, “If I did anything to you,” he closed the distance between them, whispering into Lance’s ear, “You would not _survive_.”

“How considerate of you. Sparing my life.” He paused, struggling to inhale, “What do you want then, Lotor?”

“Always rushing everything. Is that a trait of yours or do you do it just to annoy me?” He saw the blue eyes filled with irritation, “All right! All right! You’re a very busy man. I get it.”

The prince’s face became incredibly serious as he said, “I’ll go straight to the point then,

_How far are you willing to go to protect him?”_

 

“What?” Lance instinctively returned, doubting his own two ears.

Lotor only smiled, “You heard me, paladin.”

“Don’t, please, don't hurt Keith!”

“You can save him. You just have to give in.” Lotor told him.

“No!” Lance shook his head, “That won’t happen!” Lance seemed more like he was trying to convince himself than the galra prince.

“It will,” he smirked, “Believe me, _Lance._ You will be begging to take his place.”

The galra walked towards one of the tables, picking up a syringe filled with the yellow substance Lance knew too well.

“I will not kill him. I’ll just torture him again and again, leaving him pleading for death. His screams will forever haunt your mind for as long as you live.”

“Please,” Lance begged as Lotor injected him with quintessence.

“You can make it stop before it even starts, paladin. It is up to you!”

 

***

 

Keith eyed the bars, focusing his attention on the corridor poorly lighted. He had heard steps approaching and couldn't bring himself to stop staring towards the bars. His ears flinched to the sound of an advancing voice.

_Taunting._

Keith could still hear Lotor’s voice echoing and picture Lance’s defeated expression as he left with the galra prince. For some reason, his mind insisted in reminding him of it. Taunting him endlessly.

Lance saw it. How he had betrayed them and his mission.

He saw it. _What he had become._

There was no way to undo it, to erase it. Lance’s disappointed face as he realised,

 

_The Keith he knew was long lost gone._

 

And there was no way to bring him back.

The sound of steps ceased, and Keith was brave enough to look. The purple and golden cape immediately gave away who it was.

“Come with me,” the witch hissed.

Keith stared at her, “Where is he?” Anger in his tone, “What have you done to Lance?” She merely looked down on him, silence filling the room. Keith gazed at her without faltering.

Two druids accompanied Haggar, static like statues and a stoic face under the ominous mask. The black haired male didn’t move, wondering what would happen if he tried to resist. Facing a druid would be hard enough, especially unarmed. It wasn’t hard to understand that defeating two of them and the witch would be an impossible task, resulting only in more injuries to join the ones he already had.

The glowing yellow eyes petrified him, “Resist and your dear blue paladin will pay the consequences.”

Of course, they would use that against him. He had jumped into an arena with no hope of surviving, discarding his life if it meant he could shelter Lance. They knew how far he would go for him.

Keith refused to say a word, silently raising from his sitting position on the floor and walking towards the witch. She looked pleased. One of the druids cuffed both his hands behind his back.

“Follow me, _boy_.”

And he did, walking silently down the halls, wondering what was waiting. Could he even be charged with treason? The irony of the thought almost made him laugh.

Haggar stopped in front of a door, opening it before entering. Keith followed, knowing exactly where he was. Knowing exactly what waited for him.

Shiro had told him. He had seen it himself.

Haggar’s Lab.

The witch walked towards what looked like a control panel, adjusting the controls, but Keith didn’t really understand what those had done. And before he could, a druid was already onto him. As soon as the cuffs came off he massaged his already sore wrists.

“Lay down, boy” Haggar told him, eying the mattress. Keith hesitated.

They had Lance, and he wasn’t one to doubt that they would indeed hurt him if he resisted. But nothing guaranteed him that they weren’t doing the same exact thing to him. Telling Lance they would leave Keith alone in the cell as long as he cooperated.

“I won’t resist,” he looked at those menacing yellow eyes, “As long as I can certify myself that Lance is ok.” She didn’t answer, only gazing behind Keith.

His heart skipped a beat as it sank into him. The black haired male turned around and noticed the metal wall was now glass.

Lance was on the other side, shouting. Yet, Keith could only hear silence. He was still cuffed with the same shackles as before. He didn’t seem to be hurt at all and Keith wondered if they had injected quintessence in him.

Keith saw as tears formed in those clear blue eyes, the paladin begging him to stop. He could read his own name in Lance’s lips. Lance looked like he knew exactly what fate awaited him. Maybe he did. He had probably been subjected to something similar, tortured in that very place himself. Just thinking of it sickened him. Imagining the countless times he had screamed and beg for them to stop. Never knowing how much more pain they would force him to endure. Wondering if someone would rescue him. Struggling not to break.

“You can’t hear him,” Haggar hissed in his ear, “But he can hear every sound.”

_He will hear every sound._

Something inside his stomach twisted. They weren’t just going to torture him till he screamed tears, they were going to force Lance to watch it.

Keith spared the blue paladin another look, blue meeting purple again. Lance shook his head and Keith could almost hear him, _Keith, No! Please, stop this!_

Lance turned to Lotor begging, lips moving too fast for Keith to read a single word. But his distressed expression gave him away, telling him everything he needed to know.

There was no escape. There was no way out.

_Death would be their silence plea and living the only victory._

Keith took a deep breath and walked towards the mattress, lying on it like Haggar had told him to. He felt as the druids locked both his wrist and ankles, immobilizing him. From where he was, he couldn’t see Lance, but he now knew he was there. Looking at him.

“Should we give him some analgesic?” A druid asked. Haggar looked at Keith as he slightly struggled against the bindings, testing how strong they were.

“No need,” she declared, “We want him to feel this. He won’t die, hopefully.”

And with that, she activated something on the panel. An electrifying feeling came from the 4 different bindings, freezing Keith completely. Like blades cutting from the inside, the pain breached his body. Keith bit down his own lips, desperate to remain quiet, and only remembering the keen fangs when he felt the metallic taste on his lips.

“Relax, boy,” Keith saw as a dark orb formed in Haggar’s hand, “Opposing it will only make it hurt more.” Her hand dropped on his chest, pressing the ominous orb into him.

Keith realised now what pain felt like. His entire body succumbed to the immense agony, but it was his head that hurt the most. Darkness consuming his mind, as a high pitched noise, filled his sensitive ears, ripping him apart. His throat grew sore and with it, he realised he was screaming. Now, he was actually glad he couldn’t see Lance.

The aching ceased for a moment allowing him to draw a couple of heavy breaths and he whimpered, “Please, just-” The witch’s hand had descended on him again. Pain magnifying his senses. He wondered when he had started crying. Heart throbbing in his head.

“It won’t work unless your senses are awfully perceptive,” She reached for a syringe, injecting the substance inside Keith body.

“What? What won’t-”

The liquid traveled across his body, throbbing, forcing him to jolt against his own free will. His screams sounded so far away like they weren’t even coming out of his own mouth. Everything hurt too much, so much he could barely feel it.

Lance stared in dread. Keith’s screams hurting him more than anything he had endured in that lab. He looked at Lotor again, finding him smiling at the sight before him.

“Please make it stop!” he begged, “It’s too much! It’s gonna kill him!”

The galra prince smiled, playing with his long white hair, “Don’t worry. He handled it once. I’m sure he can endure it again.”

“He, what?” Blue eyes gazed towards the mattress, “It’s- He- It’s-”

The paladin inspected the other male, noticing it almost immediately. His skin whitened slowly, fangs receding back, claws withdrawing into human nails. But nothing compared to the ears. They seemed to be the ones responsible for most of his pain.

“There is no point in keeping him galra anymore.” Lotor elucidated, “But it does look awful, doesn’t it?”

Another wail filled the room. “Make it stop!” Lance almost ordered, “Please!”

Lotor only eyed him, a silent reminder of their previous _talk_.

Lance shook his head. No. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. He refused to let the galra have it their way. Keith was sobbing now, pleading for them to stop. Lance wasn’t sure what it was harder. Witnessing him endure all that or seeing him break to pieces. The Keith he knew was too stubborn to give up on something. Too stubborn to break like that.

“Oh come on,” Lotor taunted him, “How much more pain will you make my poor little brother endure.”

“Shut up!” blue eyes blazed, “Don’t call him that!” He wouldn’t let them win. He wouldn't succumb to them. He-

Keith's broken yell hit him like an arrow.

“Stop it! I’ll do whatever you want!” he gave up, “Just don’t hurt him anymore! Please!”

Lotor was smiling as he signalled Haggar. The witch injected something into Keith and it was over.

Keith’s screams stopped just like the prince promised. Lance ears hurt when filled with the silence in the room. He fell to the floor. His own two legs too weak to keep him standing.

It wasn’t over. It was only just beginning.

Keith’s eyes felt so heavy, but he forced them open. There weren’t any bindings around his wrist or ankles anymore. He glared at the witch as the druids grabbed him, raising his static body from the mattress.

“Take him back to his cell.” Keith looked around, his vision was a blur and he could barely hear anything. It felt like the had lost a part of his senses. His eyes searched for the glass, hoping he could still see Lance.

The cold glass showed him something else first. Keith’s eyes widened in disbelief.

_He looked human._

Pale skin, small teeth, no tail or giant ears. Staring at his reflection was never a common practice for Keith, but for some reason he had to look at it again. He needed to make sure he wasn’t imagining it.

Time had almost erased the memory of what he used to look like. He studied every detail of his face like it was the first time he glimpsed at it. Tears formed in his eyes.

_He was human._

He finally looked around, stopping only when he spotted the blue paladin.

Lance was looking at him, a tender yet sad smile on his face. _Keith,_ he saw the brunette’s lips move, _I’m so sorry._

The black haired male looked confused, staring back at the paladin questioning. But not for long.

“No!” Lance heard him cry out, as they dragged him out of the lab.

Keith felt helpless, his body too limp to move, but his mind too alert to ignore. All the promises and vows he had made to himself. All his wishes to protect the only ray of hope he had seen in years. Everything, shattering to pieces, as he realised,

_Lance was going to take his place._

 

***

 

_The red paladin. Red indeed._

_The color of blood that filled his hands. It was almost fitting._

Keith’s purple eyes gazed around. He didn’t remember when he had been taken there. His body too heavy and tired to do more than rest for what he assumed to be hours.

He was inside a prison cell again, but not the one he had shared with Lance. A double door of bars and massive metal gave away the place.

He knew where he was.

It was almost nostalgic to return here again. The arena. The place where it all had began would be the same place where it would all come to an end.

They didn’t need him anymore and Keith knew they wouldn’t let him live for long. So, sending him to the arena to die was their way of showing some mercy.

He was a killer, a murderer and a monster. A death in the arena would be a fitting end for him.

But he couldn’t bring himself to accept it. Not when Lance was somewhere enduring and suffering in his place. Death was an easy escape he refused to take.

So he would fight. Kill more innocent people to survive. He had done it before. He could do it again.

He swallowed hard, staring at his own hands. Dirty. Red.

They had healed him, no wounds or traces of injury in his body. But the tiredness and fatigue remained, accumulated over the time. They erased his wounds but not the effects those had on him, and as exhaustion consumed him, his body would break to pieces.

Keith jerked when the massive metal door started to raise, light blinding him through the bars. The black haired male finally started to hear the cheers of the crowd. He sighed. Of course the place would be full of spectators. Zarkon wouldn’t lose a chance to show off the strength of the empire. Capturing two paladins. Killing them for the whole universe to see. He had even went through the trouble of turning Keith back to his human like appearance.

Even if he couldn’t see himself as the Red paladin, the whole universe did. And Zarkon knew that. He was clearly trying to make a point.

The door behind him opened, revealing the galra prince. Keith didn’t even bother groaning. He refused to give Lotor that privilege.

“I wish you the best of luck, little brother.” He hated being called that. The name resembling too much something Shiro would address him as. It set him on fire.

Lotor pulled his right hand from behind his back, revealing something that Keith had long forgotten.

“I guess you’re going to need a weapon!” He placed the bayhard right in front of Keith, before turning around to leave.

“Wait,” He couldn’t stop himself. Lance. He needed to know, “Lance. Is he-”

“Your lovely paladin is alive, dear brother!” He walked away, exiting the cell, “You thought we killed him? Who do you take us as? We’re not monsters!”

_Like you._

 

Keith scanned the red and white bayhard, his hand reached for it with reluctance. The bayhard was the weapon of the paladins and Keith was no paladin. He wondered if it would even work, allowing him to witness the gleaming flash of light as the sword’s blade formed.

He clenched his hand halfway through. Hesitation consuming his determination.

His inner struggle evaporating into the thin air when he heard the bars raise, recalling him of the fate that awaited.

Lance had told him Red had refused to pick another paladin. So maybe, just maybe there was still a chance. He had to try.

His right hand reached for the weapon, fingers hesitantly finding their way into the handle. The weight of it, the way it fit in his hand perfectly. So familiar.

Keith wondered how long it had been since he grabbed the bayhard, fearing the blade would never form.

Forcing him to acknowledge what he always wanted to ignore.

A Galra.

A Human.

A Monster or a Paladin.

Villain or Hero.

He took a deep breath, emptying his mind, discarding the demons that constantly taunt him, even if just for a slim moment.

Keith half closed his eyes, the gleaming light from the bayhard blinding him, a long relieved breath escaped his throat as it materialized in front of him.

It wasn’t over yet. There was still a chance. _He knew who he was._

Fight. Win. Live.

He could do it. He had to do it. Find a way to escape, get Lance out of here, before it was too late.

 _They might force him to watch the fight,_ Keith speculated as he walked towards the arena. Bent not Broken.

He looked up, purple eyes filled with hope and desire to see the endless blue sky spreading above him. But there was no blue sky. Only purple surrounded him. The color of the empire, beaming from every direction, engulfing him.

As he looked around, something caught his eye. A beautiful shade of Blue, glowing in his direction. Bluer than earth’s sky. Bluer than its oceans. _The color of those soft eyes. Surprisingly fitting._

The blue paladin roamed in his direction, his gaze never leaving Keith.

_Lance._

He couldn’t help but to smile, grateful to see his friend again. Happy to see he was alright, and still alive. Keith looked around, wondering how long they would have until the galra released the beast they would have to fight.

Not much, he was sure.

He ran, momentarily forgetting how to breathe, speeding towards the paladin.

He didn’t care anymore. He needed him.

The urge to hold him close and feel the heat of his body. The beating of his heart. He had to make sure Lance was alright. Apologize. His desire to live only grew stronger as the distance between them decreased. He was dragged towards those blue eyes, unable to defy the pull.

“Keith,” the sweet sound melting in his ears, “Keith”

The purple eyed male embraced Lance, their size difference allowing him to rest his head in brunette’s neck like it was meant to lay there.

A stab of agony ached just above his stomach forcing Keith’s eyes open as he lost balance, falling deeper into the embrace.

“Lance?” Blue eyes stared back at him. Lifeless and with no brilliance.

_Oh. No. Lance._

He pulled the knife too mechanically, leaving Keith bleeding.

Lance. No, this wasn't Lance. He would never do something like this. 

Keith knew they had to be controlling him somehow. He looked around, searching for the witch, hoping he could find some answers. A way to stop it. This was too cruel.

“Lance, please,” Keith covered his wound, red flowing out of the cut, “Snap out of it! I don’t want to fight you!” He threw his bayhard away, hoping it would emphasize his point.

Something in his chest twisted. The pain from his wound long forgotten in the anguish that consumed him.

He just didn’t want to fight Lance. He couldn’t bring himself to. Not Lance. He would never hurt him. Never. He refused to.

Those sick fucks forcing him to fight against Lance only of their enjoyment. They would pay. They would pay for everything they had done. But now, Lance was more important.

There had to be a way to bring him back. And he had to find it. The galra wouldn’t have it their way. He refused to let them win.

The blue paladin looked at him, his face null of any feeling. Keith clenched his teeth, as he concluded.

Lance had taken his place. Suffered in his stead, and now was being controlled by the empire. Ripped off his own free will, deprived of humanity.

_He was at fault._

 

“Please, Lance! Listen to me!” the brunette attacked and Keith dodge, his recent wound slowing him enough for Lance to hurt his left arm. The cut wasn’t too deep, but the bleeding wasn’t exactly pleasing to look at, “I’m not gonna fight you!”

He could feel the crowd mocking him, encouraging him to fight. He didn’t want to die, but for a moment, knowing death would come to him from the hands of his comrade didn’t sound so bad. He could die himself, battling till his last breathe as he dissolved in red.

Lance attacked him once more, aiming for his heart and Keith dodged on pure instinct.

 

Dark. It was so dark and cold. He could hear. He could see.

_Please. I don’t want to do this._

But he couldn’t stop. His own body moving by itself, eager for blood. Keith’s blood.

Lance looked at him, begging, wondering if his expression had even changed, _Please, Keith. Fight me._ _You have to fight me. I don’t want to kill you._

The thought crossed his mind. His own body moving delighted, stabbing Keith to death as he begged for mercy. Screams of pain were in his ears and the warmth of blood in his hands. Lance didn’t know what hurt more. The helplessness, maybe. How powerless he truly was. Unable to even apologize. _Please, don’t look like you’re happy to die by my hands._

His own body moved again, rushing towards Keith. Just gazing at those hurt purple eyes shred him to pieces. He forced his hands backward, but they moved forward. He cried out but only silence left his mouth.

_Something. Someone. Make it stop._

Lance wondered why was Keith so stubborn. Taking hit after hit like it was nothing. Refusing to fight back, even if it was to defend himself. Why was he so stubborn. The wounds only accumulated on his body, one after another. Wounds Lance had left on him with his own two hands. He wanted to stop, but his body only inflicted more force into every strike.

For so many years, Lance survived in between the sad memories of Keith's disappearance. Wondering if he was dead, blaming himself for it. But he never thought everything would become so literal.

_It’s almost ironic._

 

Keith had tried everything he could think of, but fatigue was catching to him too fast. Unlike Lance. He just seemed to be gaining more and more speed, hitting him harder. Keith looked at the blue paladin, his dead eyes eradicating his faith.

He wondered if Lance could see him. If he could hear him. Keith didn’t want to give up, but he failed to find a way out, at least for both of them. At least for him.

“Lance,” he started, panting harshly, “If you can hear me, then I guess, you’ll hate me right now. I’m really grateful I got a chance to meet you again,” Keith was smiling involuntarily, “I was so lost but I remember now. I know who am I and I’m glad I can go as myself. Lance, I,” his voice cracked, “I’m sorry it has to end like this. But, please, promise me you’ll keep on living for both of us. I’m sure they’ll be coming for you, so please hang in there.” he grinned as Lance dashed to him, ready to pierce his heart. Keith didn’t move, holding his arms open like he was waiting for a gentle hug, “I’m really glad I got to meet you and everyone else. You guys were the closest to a family that I ever had. Thank you for everything.” he closed his eyes, accepting his fate too easily, “Please tell them I said-”

“You can tell them yourself!” Lance’s voice told him. Keith purple eyes widened. The blue paladin’s expression didn’t match his words and for a split moment, Keith wondered if te had imagined it. “You selfish piece of- Wait! I’m speaking.” the black haired male evaded the attack looking at Lance surprised.

The brunette remained composed, his whole body like a doll that showed no emotion, but his voice. His voice sounded _his_.

“Keith, please, fight back! I don- to kill-”

“Lance!”

A movement in the crowd called his attention, and Keith now knew for sure Haggar was the one doing this. The witch didn’t seem pleased with Lance’s manifestation. Two orbs of darkness formed in her hands, while Zarkon’s grin became visible.

“Keef- Can’t- Move!” Lance opened his mouth.

He was fighting. He was there, fighting, with him.

The blue paladin launched another attack, sharp knife pointed at Keith. He ran to him, pushing Lance out of the way and allowing him to avoid being hit by black orbs. The knife in Lance’s hand had his blood again.

“Ei? What are you?” Keith eyes widened as he watched the blue paladin struggling to move the knife in a different direction.

“Fight it Lance!” he reached for him, hoping to take the blade away. Lance’s hand moved out of nowhere, striking his own leg and leaving him screaming.

“Quiznack! That hurts!” Lance cried out, eyes blurring. Pain sobering him. It ached just from seeing Lance’s hurt expression.

 _Lance’s hurt. expression,_ Keith realised. He was regaining control. Slowly, but progressing. He rose, filled with determination to protect Lance from the witch’s attacks and giving him a better fighting chance.

Lance could do it himself. He was strong enough to free himself from Haggar’s control. And he would do what he could to help. Keep him safe from every attack they threw at him, in their desperate need to stop him from regaining himself.

Lance felt his own mind clearing. Slowly the darkness was swiped away. He could do it. He just had to keep-

A sharp stab stroke his mind. Leaving him on the edge. He looked around, only managing to see Keith, back turned to him. So vulnerable. _Kill him._

Lance got up slowly, his right hand on the blade they had given him, his eyes on the figure in front of him. Keith was distracted, and Lance, like a wild animal approached slowly, without making a sound. It was so easy.

He screamed silence, desperate to stop. He tried to step back, but his body moved forward.

So close.

He took another step.

_Please, stop. Anything but this._

His arms rose, the blade shining with the purple lighting, ready to strike and kill his prey. Lance tried to stop his arms from coming down, but it was futile. Blue tears formed in his eyes as his hands drived the blade down.

“Lance?” He dared himself to open his blue eyes again. Keith stood in front of him, eyebrow raised, “Are you alright?”

The blue paladin looked at Keith, his arms were frozen in the air, the blade on his hand. He had stopped.

His heart was pounding madly in his head. This was his last chance.

Lance looked at him, tears forming in his eyes, “Keith,” he could feel himself losing control of own body again, “I’m sorry,” he tried to speak, but his voice had gone missing again. The feeling of the knife on his right hand slowly disappearing as his whole self succumbed to darkness.

_It was simple._

The galra would never allow him to keep on fighting like this. He knew it. This was probably the last time he would have some control. There was only one way to stop hurting Keith. He knew.

There was no time to hesitate. Every second he wasted could be another wound he left on Keith.

Lance pointed the blade at himself, the last drop of free will in his body allowing him to. He knew that there was probably another way out. But he was running out og time, and he couldn't think of anything. He hated the idea, yet it looked so wonderful when the other option rose in his mind.

He. would. never. kill. him.

“Lance,” Keith’s unease hang in the air. His heart sank when he saw Lance’s bright smile. _So beautiful._

Keith knew exactly what he was thinking.

Haggar prepared another attack and Keith’s mind cleared.

He felt like an idiot now. Why did he ignore something he had realised days ago. They wanted to kill Lance. He had known it all along. It was so simple.

They had kept Keith alive for years, but Lance was a different case. Somehow Zarkon saw profit in his death. He looked at the witch. They didn’t want Lance to die of his own free will, always so full of himself even when death laid in the corner.

They wanted Lance’s death to come as a warning to orders, not a manifestation of free will and desire to fight.

Lance was a symbol of freedom when Keith had confined so many.

 

His hands were _Red._ He must have _killed_ a thousand lives.

His eyes were _Blue._ He must have _cried_ a thousand times.

 

And he knew it. Those eyes told him everything. He knew it was too late to stop Lance. But it wasn’t too late to stop the witch.

If all he could do was stop her. If all he could do was grant Lance’s wish to die freely.

He wouldn’t dare be selfish for once.

 _If you really intend to go,_ Keith moved forward, running to Lance like it was the last time, _At least, say goodbye._

 

Lance tasted the metallic flavour of blood and tears as Keith’s soft lips found their way to his. Time stopped, and everything in his mind went white when Keith’s warmth filled him.

Lance felt the knife fall off his hands, his body too astonished to move.

This was fine. This was good. The smile twisting as blood rose to his face. God, he could die in peace now, not a single regret.

Keith’s weight was on his arms, his body wenting limp and his heartbeat erratic.

“Was the kiss that good?” he jokingly asked, embracing Keith and he pulled him closer.

His tanned skin went white. He rose his hand high enough to look at it, without ever letting go of Keith.

Red.

He looked at Keith, blue teary eyes widened in panic. Keith breath was too soft, too weak as he went numb. He was losing too much blood.

_Keith watched a beautiful shade of Blue glow in his direction. Bluer than earth’s sky. Bluer than its oceans. The color of those soft eyes. Looking back at him. Lance gazed at the Red paladin. Red indeed. The color of the blood that filled his hands._

_Blue Tears_ left the blue eyes, life flowing out as _Red Blood._

Lance watched him struggle, desperate to speak. He shook his head, pleading him to stay still, quiet. It was ok. It would be ok. But Keith only smiled at him, knowing too well his fate. His voice came weak, barely above a whisper, “Yeah, It was great.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there,
> 
> I'm so very sorry for almost taking an extra week to update this! But basically I just faced one of the biggest blocks of my life, (5 hours to write 2 paragraphs *groans*) But hopefully the chapter was enjoyable. I hope ^^'  
> It was actually one of the chapters I was more hyped to write when I started the fic and having writer's block was just plain cruel. 
> 
> Anyways, enough of my rambling.  
> We're on the final round, next week I'll post the last two chapters - the last chapter and a small epilog. I'm not even saying when I'm getting it out since I've been clearly failing on that, but it will be next week. The sooner the better. (Finals are coming).  
> Once more, I'm sorry for the delay I hope the chapter was good enough to compensate. ^^ Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> Also, something every important. This amazing artist Icey drew a piece of art for the fic, and I uploaded it in the end of chapter 5. So yeah check that out! You can also take a look at her [blog](http://staring-into-demon-eyes.tumblr.com) and if you want to see more of her awesome art, see her art tag #Iceydraws!
> 
>  
> 
> I think that's all! Have a nice day! <3


	8. Burning Ice

Shiro watched as Pidge adjusted her glasses, “I think that’s it.” The small girl said seriously looking towards the black paladin. 

“It does look like our best shoot.” Both paladins looked at Coran, who had his eyes on the large monitor as he played with his mustache.

“Well, I can’t think of any other way!” Pidge stated before starting rambling too detailedly why the other options weren’t good enough. 

“Ok. Ok.” Hunk rose up from his chair and the holographic control panel vanished, “If that’s our best plan, then we better get going! We don’t really know if Lance is in the main ship. But we have to go get him!”

“Agreed,” Allura stated, “We already lost too much time coming up with a rescue plan. Every moment we hesitate only gives the galra more time to prepare for us!”

Everyone nodded and Allura gave a small uncertain smile. 

“Let’s go then,” Shiro proceeded, but before he could give out the order for the other paladins to head for their lions, the entire bridge turned red, warnings flashing out in all the monitors followed by the annoying alarm, “What’s that?”

“Coran, are we under attack?”

The ginger hurried to the controls, pressing keys at an amazing speed, “No, princess! It’s-”

“Holy shit! Is that the red lion?!” Pidge gasped, eyes glued to the video feed on her monitor.

“Language,” Shiro grunted but his demand remained almost unnoticed as Hunk rushed towards the green paladin.

“No way! It’s true! She’s going completely berserk.” 

Coran agreed, “Indeed. That was what set off the alarms.”

“She never did that before,” Shiro stated.

“Holy fuck, that’s a wall!”

“ _ Was  _ a wall, Hunk!” Pidge corrected him, “But why would she do this now. Unless,”

None of them said it. But they all thought the same.

_ Keith. _

“It’s the only explanation I can think off,” The green paladin admitted, “Something really bad must have happened.”

“Keith could be in great danger!”

“Coran, open up the hangars! Let the red lion free. We’re going to follow her!”

“What about Lance?”

“Hunk,” Shiro’s eyes stared at him unwavering, “This might be our only chance to find Keith.”

“Yeah, I know that! But we don’t have any guarantee that it _ is  _ him. Lance could be in danger too. We’ve wasted too much time already! We have to go help him.”

“For the past 5 years, the red lion barely even manifested herself.” Allura offered, “For her to go completely berserk, and even attack the castle from the inside. Something really bad must have happened. Keith could be in great danger. Life threatening danger.”

“Same goes for Lance!” Hunk protested, yet his voice muted down when his eyes meet the others. That wasn’t easy, not neither of them, “I get it. I know. I’m sorry. It’s just. Lance’s is my best bud. I can’t stand not knowing what could be happening to him.”

Shiro reached for him, resting his hand in Hunk’s shoulder in a comforting manner, “We’ll get Lance back, I promise.”

“Yeah, I know. Thanks, Shiro.”

“I’m sorry to burst your bubble, really. But you guys need to see this!” Pidge’s hands fluidly moved across her control panel and soon the video was being projected in the main monitor of the bridge, so the 5 of them could see it.

“Is that, a wormhole?” Hunk asked a bit surprised.

“Yeah!”

“Princess?”

“Well don’t look at me! I haven’t open any wormhole.”

“Yeah I thought so,” the green paladin tiredly rested her head in her hand.

“Well, the red lion has been inside the castle for 5 years,” Coran stared, “She must have been able to absorb some of Allura life force that lingers in the castle as residual energy.”

“Isn’t the  _ where is the wormhole going _ question a lot more important than the  _ how was the wormhole was created _ question?” Hunk interrupted.

“True.”

“Let’s hurry! We might not have much time!” Shiro offered almost cutting Pidge off, and the 3 paladins headed for the hangars and the two alteans prepared the castle for battle.

 

***

 

The emperor rose from his seat unpleased with the outcome of the fight. His vivid eyes looked towards the one only person he trusted. No words were necessary. Haggar knew exactly what he was going to order her, and without hesitation, she abided by his decision. Her yellow eyes glowed towards the two figures in the middle of the arena.

Lance looked around, desperately wondering how long he had.

“Keith?” The paladin carefully shifted the body in his arms. Keith hissed, the pain from his wound reminding him that he was still alive. “You’ll be fine.” he looked at those blue eyes as galra soldiers started to surround them from every direction, “Just keep breathing slowly. You’ll be fine.”  

There was still time. The galra had been caught by surprise somehow, unable to halt the situation. There was still time. Not much. But, time. 

Keith knew that. 

“Lance,” he tried. Every word seemed too heavy in his mouth. “Get out of here!”

_ There is time. If you go now you can make it. _

“No way! I’m not going anywhere without you!” the blue paladin protested bitterly.

“Lance, please. It’ll be fine,” 

“Don’t even think about it! I’m not leaving you behind! Never. No way!” Two purple eyes widened. His senses screamed, perceiving everything around him. They were going to kill Lance. Right there, in front of him. He had allowed too many to die. Their screams forever taunting him. Overtaking him. His whole self shattering to pieces as he realised, “They managed 5 years without me,  _ but they need you.” _

He had failed them all, but if he could just rescue Lance. If he could just protect that bright ray of hope. 

“I’m not going anywhere!” Lance’s hold only grew stronger, “I’m not leaving you behind to die!” An awful amount of soldiers had already surrounded them, “If you want me to survive that badly, then you better live through all this, and return with me!”

Keith couldn't help but smile, immediately wanting to submit to his request.

“If you want him to survive, you should hand him over.” The soldier smirked taking a single step forward.

“Don’t touch him!” Lance hissed like a cornered animal that has nothing left to lose.

“How scary!” the galra mocked, “Surrender the half-breed right now and you might get a chance to survive.”

_ Oh sure, _ his blue eyes looked towards the red paladin, silently laying in his arms. Keith's head rested in the crook of Lance’s neck. His breaths were so weak, yet still managed to send chills down Lance’s spine from time to time. 

He looked at those purple eyes once more, finding the answer to all his question in their blaze.

_ Dying to Live. _

Lance’s had reached for the red blade, grasping it with all his strength. 

“Just give up, paladin. You’re wasting our time.”

“Finish him already!” the witch ordered in a hiss, moving her arm forward with the command.

The soldier that had taunted them was the first to attack. His blade dived towards Lance with no hesitation. The paladin avoided the blow easily, only worrying when Keith protested with the movement. He silently asked for forgiveness, carefully leaving the other male on the floor, right behind him.

“What are you waiting for?” the soldier protested, “Get him!”

Lance heard what one could call, a battle cry, as the soldiers rushed towards him. A violent quake sent most of them to their knees, and Lance took that as his queue. His grip on the blade tightened as his body moved forward, delivering a blow in the stomach of the first galra that got closed enough. He avoided another soldier, jumping high enough and kicking a third one in the face. He felt his own body being hit, strong punches leaving him breathless, but he had no time to worry about the pain. He pushed forward, fighting with everything he had. Hoping to find an opening, yet they only entrapped him more. 

Slowly Lance felt his speed drop. He had taken down most of the soldiers that surrounded them, but more were joining, coming to the aid of their comrades. Lance groaned at them, hinting them to stay away. 

But they only pushed forward. Every strike they delivered on Lance seemed to be harder and heavier, and soon he himself was being thrown to the floor, landing right next to Keith. 

“Are you finally going to give up?” The soldier grinned, sword in his hand, as he approached the paladin.

“You wish! I guess today isn’t your lucky day!” Lance offered, scanning around for his blade, but it was long gone, flung away from his hand when he collided into the floor.

“That makes two of us then,” Lance saw the galra raise the sword, positioning it to fall down on him and rip him in two. He ordered his body to dodge the attack, but he was too weak and sore. Too tired.

This was it. He turned back, hoping to find Keith. Hoping he could say goodbye just like he had asked him to.

But something caught his eye. Something he hadn’t seen in years. Something that would never work. Something he had to try.

He didn’t exactly have time to figure it out. Do or Die. He grasped it, raising the red bayard up and hoping the blade would form in time to stop the descending sword. 

A bright light caught Lance’s eyes as the weapon materialized in front of him, efficiently stopping the attack from the galra soldier. The blue paladin was taken aback as he noticed that the usual sword had instead taken the shape of another close range weapon.

“Oh,  _ come on _ !” he complained  bitterly , “A  _ lance _ ?!” He looked at the soldier in front of him, ignoring the killing intent radiating from him, “This  _ has _ to be a joke!”

Lance let out a yelp when the soldier pushed the sword down on him with more strength, probably trying to cut through the handle or force Lance’s arms to give out. The paladin, reminding himself of the situation he was into, pushed forward too. In a quick movement, he used his right leg and foot to make his opponent lose balance, efficiently making him stagger backward. Without hesitating, Lance swung the harpoon around, piercing the soldier in front of him. He watched as the galra gradually realised what had happened. 

The blue paladin looked at him with fierce eyes, hand in the red and white lance, keeping it in place. Something like a battle cry made him look to his right, where another soldier finally decided to make his move. His motion seemed to break the dozed off state of the other galra, encouraging them to fight.

_ Shit… _

The paladin pulled the lance from the soldier, using the long handle as a support to help him stand up again. Yet a violent quake sent him back to the floor. 

“What the hell is that!” he hissed in pain. Most of the soldiers in the arena had fallen to the floor with the strong impact. Lance looked towards the source of the ruckus, hoping it could be good enough to buy them some time. 

Blue eyes widened in awe and the brown hair danced with the lion’s roar. 

The Red lion’s roar.

He watched as the lion went on a rampage, firing the lasers at everyone that wasn’t them and causing the panic in the ring.

Lance turned around, “Keith?!” he started cheerfully. Keith was awfully quiet, his body too still laying on the floor. The blue paladin did not dare to say another word. He carefully reached for Keith’s neck and sighed in relieve when he felt the small thuds behind his fingers.

Keith was only unconscious. He was still alive. There was still time.

Lance cradled him closer, hoping he could somehow carry him to the inside of the mechanical cat. Yet his body betrayed him. His own heigh proving to be something hard enough to support. 

Pleading blue eyes looked towards the red lion, who stopped attacking the galra soldiers and looked towards the paladin. 

_ Please, we don't have much time.  _

The yellow glow from the lion’s eyes hovered to him and before he could blink it away, Red was running towards them. Her mouth opened. Lance closed his eyes automatically as he cradled Keith closer. 

And as fast as it began it was over.

 

He scanned the inside of the lion, lighted in a red glow, wondering if he was dreaming.  

“Hurry,” Lance hoped she would hear him just like she had happened before, “It doesn’t look good!” he declared. 

His mind wandered, and Lance wished that his own lion had come to the rescue. He wanted to ignore the thought. He was grateful enough Red had come for them. More like, had come for Keith.  Yet, not witnessing his lion come to his rescue, ached more than any of the wounds he had received in the ring.

Maybe he just wasn’t worthy enough.

He felt himself shaking his head like it would drive the thoughts away.

He was going back. And Keith was with him. Barely alive, but still.

There was hope.

 

***

 

Shiro observed as the red lion flew towards the castle. He watched the blue lion shoot at the fighters the main ship was sending after the red lion, efficiently covering the escape. Apparently, they were too late to be of any use.

“Pidge, Hunk,” the black paladin looked at the two figures in his monitor, “Help the blue lion! But be careful not to get too close to the ship!” he ordered and the other two paladins noded.

“Have you heard anything from Lance?” Pidge asked, “Is he in the blue lion?”

“No, I haven’t,” Shiro moved the controls, and activating the jaw blade,  he easily eliminated the enemies coming from his right. “I tried to contact both lions. But there was no response.”

“No visual either?” He heard Hunk ask and nodded, hoping they had seen it. “So there is actually a strong possibility that Keith is in the red lion, right? I mean, why would the lion go berserk and do all  _ that. _ ”

“We don’t know,” Shiro replied, too afraid to raise his hopes up. The black paladin observed the green lion shoot a white laser, entangling the airships in vines.

“Great job, Pidge!” Shiro pulled the controls, “Let's return to the castle and get out of here!”

“Hurry up, paladins!” Allura’s face appeared on the monitor, “I am already opening the wormhole.”

The lions rapidly reached the castle, each one entering in their respective hangar.

Shiro rose from his chair when his lion settled down. His stomach twisted in anticipation. He didn’t want to have his hopes up, but just the thought of seeing his little brother again... After 5 long years, looking for him, delaying missions and taking unnecessary risks to evaluate the veracity of the few information they could gather, having him back sounded almost like a distant dream that could never come true. 

After 5 long years, looking for him, delaying missions and taking unnecessary risks to evaluate the veracity of the few information they could gather, having him back sounded almost like a distant dream that could never come true. 

He wanted to ignore his hopes, but Red’s behavior made it hard to believe in something else. Just like Hunk had pointed out, Why would she act like that, if it wasn’t something to do with Keith. 

Shiro continued running down the halls, course already set to the red lion’s hangar. His helmet was still on and he could hear Pidge asking questions and Allura declaring they had safely made it through the wormhole.

The black paladin hesitated for  a moment, as he stood in front of the doors that would lead him to the hangar, “Allura! Better tell Coran to ready a pod!” 

“Oh god, Shiro! You there already? Is it Lance? Keith? Both? Are they ok?” Hunk rambled through the coms.

“I haven’t entered the hangar yet,” Shiro offered, “But I’m about to do it now.”

“I’m right behind you!” Pidge voice sounded erratic, and Shiro knew she had run all the way there.

When the doors opened Shiro found the red lion in the same exact place where it had been for the past 5 years. It looked like it was offline, but there wasn’t any force field around her like usual. Shiro felt the heavy aura hang in the air, and for a moment he was almost afraid to step forward.

“Shiro!” Pidge appeared behind him. She seemed to notice his distress, “You ok?”

“Yeah,” he took a couple of steps towards the lion, “Open up!” The words too harsh sounded almost like an order, “Please.” He added resenting his previous tone. “If you have Keith or Lance inside, please, open up! We can help!” His voice came a lot softer this time, just like it was supposed to. Pidge smiled, adding another please to her leader's request.

And Red abided by. Her mouth slowly opened and Shiro rushed inside. His heart beating too fast. His mind racing too hard to let him channel his thoughts. 

Yet it all came to a halt as he saw the two figures laying on the cold floor inside the red lion. Keith and Lance.

He would hate himself for smiling at the horrible sight, but he couldn’t even begin to explain how glad he was to see Keith again. How the black bangs hang in his face. How his skin still remained so white.

Keith was back. Somehow. Lance had found him and brought him back.

Shiro forgot how to breathe when he saw how still they were, his hopes floating away like ashes as he eyed the wounds and blood covering their bodies. He immediately reached forward, only relaxing when he felt a weak pulse on both of them.

“Hunk! Hurry up! I can’t carry them both!” 

“Both? Oh lord! I’m going, Shiro!”

“Shiro? Is Lance and-”

“Pidge, please go ahead and get the pods ready.” 

"Shiro, I-"

"Please." She nodded, only peaking at the interior of the lion, not managing to see much. It was probably really bad, for Shiro to politely ask her to leave. He would forever treat her like she was 14.

 

***

 

The cold sight of glass was the first thing he saw. His breath fogged the crystal clear material as it faded into the air. Lance stumbled out of the healing pod, barely managing to stay on his two feet. His vision was blur, but he ignored it looking around. Unpleasantly familiar.

“Lance! You ok, buddy?” 

The blue paladin looked at him, the only question that lingered in his mind already in his mouth, “Where’s Keith?”

That unpleasant silence made him wonder if he had dreamed it all. 

No. That hadn’t been a dream. “Where’s Keith?” he looked at Shiro this time, but his eyes barely let him recognize the black paladin’s features. Could it be that he had brought Keith back just to have him die in front of everyone? 

They had moved on, and he had opened the wound, rubbing salt in it in the process. 

“Sh-”

Lance went quiet as he felt Hunk embrace him.  _ He had failed them.  _ Lance felt the tears form in his blue eyes. Yet something felt a little off. Hunk’s arms were definitely thinner than normal. Blue eyes looked up filled with curiosity, “Keith?” he heard his own voice say, “You’re alive?” he whispered perplexed. 

“What is that supposed to mean?” 

He looked annoyed, maybe even offended, yet never untangling his arms from Lance waist. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Once again another late update! It won't happen again xd  
> Anyways thank you so much for reading and i hope you enjoyed it :)


	9. Epilog

Two blue eyes shoot open, glowing deeply in the darkness. Lance felt his chest rise frantically, as the small drops fell down his face.

 _It was just a dream_ , he told himself, repeating the words in his mind again and again almost like a prayer.

The nightmares never stopped haunting his dreams, even tho some years had already passed since the incident. Maybe those horrible nightmares would never stop. Teasing his mind forever, throughout endless nights.

From time to time, Lance was able to sleep soundly for days, or even weeks, just to be surprised with another bad dream. Worse than the previous one, leaving him anxious and confused, as he laid in his bed trying to calm himself and regain his composure.

Almost methodically, his head turned to the side, looking for the clock. Yet he found something much better than the amount of hours he had managed to sleep.

Keith’s head reposed in his chest and part of the elbow, effortlessly cutting off the circulation in his arm. But he would be damned if he dared to move even the slightest bit, not when Keith comfortably laid there, sleeping soundly. A smile tucked in his face, _How was I even living before this?_

Numb limbs were a god damn fine price to pay to have an adorable Keith cuddling next to him. Lance took his sweet time admiring how Keith’s black hair danced with every breath he took or how cute he looked. Even if his face resembled one of a serial killer about to murder someone in his sleep.

The blue paladin slowly stared at the pink scar on Keith’s shoulder, observing how it spread across his right elbow. Lance followed the trail of lightly newer scars, tailing the markings in the neck and cheek until he was staring into tired purple eyes.

“Sleep!” Keith sloppily demanded, barely managing to keep his eyes open as he searched for a more comfortable position.

Keith had his cute moments, and Lance tried to appreciate all of them, especially half-sleeping Keith. That was one of his favourites. “Sorry I woke you up!”

Lance’s hand easily found the back of Keith’s head. Without giving it much thought, he started delivering sweet caresses near the neck and the ears. He enjoyed the sight of Keith leaning into his touch like he hadn’t felt it in ages.

He brushed the black bangs out of the way, smile in his lips, as he delivered a soft kiss on Keith’s forehead. Lance let out a small giggle when Keith’s arm curled around him, face finding the way to the crook of his neck, and the small breaths, tickling. He ignored the feeling, refusing to acknowledge how something so simple could send chills down his spine.

Lance wasn’t completely sure when he started humming, the soft melody leaving his mouth too naturally while his hand continued to pet Keith's hair warmly.

“Was it another nightmare?” Lance felt the voice, barely above a whisper, send an electrifying feeling across his body.

“Nahhh,” he lied with all his teeth, and the look Keith gave him told him that he was probably losing his prodigious lying skills. Yet, Keith did not say a word, only adjusting himself better in Lance’s embrace. “Just go back to sleep.”

And for once, Keith agreed with him, slowly diving into Lance’s scent and allowing laziness to overtake him.

“I’m here you know,” he offered softly, avoiding Lance’s eyes on him.

His answer came with a tender smile, “Yeah, I know.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess this is it!  
> Thank you for reading! <3  
> I actually can't believe I completed the fanfic. Wow. I'm actually just a bit proud of myself for this.  
> I really need to thank my friend for all the support and patience she had during my "This is terrible. I want to delete the whole thing" moments. 
> 
> Anyways, I might or might not write a sequel. Cuz I totally wanted to write something with Keith having an unstable galra form he can't control, and this fic gave me a pretty good way to start that scenario. But I still haven't done much planning so I don't know. But if I do write it, it will be passed between chapter 8 and chapter 9, and show how their relationship developed.
> 
> So yeah! I hoped you enjoyed it and once more thank you for reading and for all the lovely comments or kudos! <3  
> Have a nice day

**Author's Note:**

> First time ever writing for a fandom and I hope this turns out at least decent.  
> I'm not sure how many chapters this will have but I think around 7 or 8. Also, I'll try to update this weekly, like around Sundays or Mondays (UTC/GMT +1 hour).  
> Just warning that this will be just angst all over so I'm sorry and not sorry for that.  
> Hope you enjoy it! Thanks for reading.
> 
>  
> 
> The amazing art on chapter 5 was made by [Icey](http://staring-into-demon-eyes.tumblr.com). Go ahead and check out her art tag #iceydraws!
> 
>    
> My [Tumblr](https://sakumiyukime.tumblr.com) (but it's basically just fandom trash posts)  
> 


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